MCOT backs government support for Thai SMEs

BANGKOK, March 16 (TNA) - MCOT Public Company Limited (MCOT), a most established Thai media firm running the Thai News Agency (TNA) and MCOT digital TV, radio and news online networks, will support a government plan on assisting and developing local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the sake of their sustainable growth. Minister Attached to the Prime Minister's Office Kobsak Pootrakool told journalists on March 15 that he has assigned the state-run Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP) to work together with 25 other agencies, namely MCOT, to assist and develop Thai SMEs, including those in local communities, until they stand firmly with a sustainable growth trend in order to boost the local grassroots economy. Kobsak said the Thai government has earmarked a budget of over 3.8 billion baht to finance the plan, under which a task force has been set up, headed by the OSMEP chief, to first select potential SMEs in 10 targeted Thai provinces and to provide them with necessary knowledge and information on financial, marketing and business operational strategies. According to the minister, MCOT has been selected to support the plan by running public relations (PR) programs to promote the selected SMEs and to report their progressive development, which will also inspire some other three million SMEs nationwide. Besides, OSMEP has been assigned to develop SMEs networks and support them to adopt advanced digital and innovative technologies into their production and business strategies, including the e-commerce. The minister suggested that SMEs in Kalasin Province, where there is the highest proportion of impoverished Thai citizens, be first assisted and developed as the pilot project before expanding to other northeastern and northern Thai provinces. Meanwhile, the OSMEP chief reported that his office plans to first support over 330,000 SMEs in 2018 to boost economic value to the nation by about 90 billion baht and to boost revenues of overall Thai SMEs to about 50 per cent of the country's total gross domestic product (GDP) in the coming years, from about 42.5 per cent currently. (TNA)