TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has unveiled its' guideline on 'SME Credit Rating Methodology in ASEAN' that aims to reduce asymmetric credit information, which is geared towards enhancing access to finance for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).

A socialization workshop to promote the new standard that will be applied across ASEAN was jointly held by Bank Indonesia and Ministry of Cooperative and SMEs of the Republic of Indonesia on December 5, in Jakarta. The guideline and the workshop, which is a part of the ASEAN SME Agencies Working Group (SMEWG), was aimed to socialize the outcomes of the researches on the issue, as well as to create awareness on the benefits of credit rating system among key stakeholders, which includes central banks, credit rating agencies, small and medium enterprise (SME) development agencies and commercial banks from ASEAN Member States.

Among the speakers at the workshop was Prof. Naoyuki Yoshino, the Dean of Asian Development Bank Institute and a specialist member from the World Bank Group in Indonesia, who shared his expertise and experience on best practices on SME financing.

The guideline was created in consultation with researchers from the Institute for Economic and Social Research at the University of Indonesia (LPEM FEUI), which proposed that the guiding principles need to be crafted in such a way to serve those who are considered by mainstream financial institutions as un-bankable - in particular, informal and SME start-ups.

The project is supported by Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), and is one of flagship deliverables under Myanmar’s 2014 Chairmanship of ASEAN. (*)