Measures to help SMEs

BANGKOK, Jan 30 (TNA) - The Industry Ministry will propose assistance measures for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to the cabinet on Tuesday. After meeting with the chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce to discuss assistance measures for SMEs to alleviate impacts from the minimum wage rise yesterday, Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana disclosed that he would propose the issues to the cabinet for consideration on Tuesday. The proposal will include the three-year plan, targeting 50,000 entrepreneurs. In the first year, the measure will help 10,000 entrepreneurs reduce cost by 10 per cent before it will expand assistance to additional 20,000 others in the second year and the rest 20,000 in the third years. The ministry will cooperate with the private sector, SMEs bank, the Thailand Productivity Institute to develop researches for these small scale business operators and to give them consulting service such as the Big Brother project. The Big Brother project continues for the second year to help SMEs. Under the project, this year, 50 big companies will join to train SMEs and assist them to double their sales volumes. Meanwhile, the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTTC)’s Center for Economic and Business Forecasting revealed its survey that the current SME situation index in the fourth quarter of 2017 stayed at 42.3, increased by 1.2 points from the previous quarter. The competency index in doing business was 50.2, dropped by 0.1 point. The center viewed that Thai SMEs started to recover but the government’s decision to increase the minimum wage will impact them and they must adapt themselves by introducing new machinery and IT system in production. (TNA)