Thai government to assist strong baht-affected SMEs

BANGKOK, April 11 (TNA) - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has ordered the Ministry of Finance's Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) to study the improvement of existing but underperforming venture capital funds to assist local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the appreciation of the Thai baht. FPO Director-General Somchai Sajjapongse told journalists on Thursday that his office is, thus, studying all possible aspects, namely the appropriate number of such funds, joint investment by the local public and private sectors, similar assistance through funds in Japan and European countries, fund-raising and the development of venture capital funds for their listings on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), with the study set to be concluded and proposed to the prime minister by the end of this month. The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has, meanwhile, insisted that it can manage the baht value and will gradually intensify its measures, but the central bank will not impose a tax to control capital inflows in order to maintain confidence in the Thai economy among international businesses. Patchara Samalapa, Executive Vice President of KASIKORNBANK (KBank), acknowledged that the value of the Thai currency, which has risen to 28.95 baht a US dollar has reduced Thai exporters' competitiveness and affected local SMEs, particularly those producing raw materials for the Thai exporters. (TNA)