KUALA LUMPUR: Global e-commerce leader eBay released its Southeast Asia Small Online Business Trade Report July 2022.

SMEs are the backbone of Southeast Asia’s economy and a vital tenet of the regional economic architecture.

In Malaysia, SMEs account for 97.2% of total business establishments, contributing 38.2% or more than RM512.8 billion to the country’s GDP in 2020.

Among the six Asean markets (Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) covered in the report, 68% of eBay-enabled small businesses exported to ten or more international markets.

In 2020, the region’s eBay-enabled small business community made sales in 214 international markets.

All eBay-enabled small businesses covered in the report in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are exporters, and over 95% in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore use eBay to reach global consumers.

Malaysian SMEs on eBay export to an average of 30 international destinations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Canada, Italy, France, Japan, China and Spain.

The ability to access non-traditional export markets via eBay is immediately apparent for these SMEs. Seven of the top ten export markets for Malaysia’s eBay-enabled small businesses are not among the top ten for traditional exporters.

The top five product categories exported by Malaysian sellers on eBay were: auto parts, home & garden, health & beauty, cell phones & accessories and collectibles.