Competitiveness of Thai SMEs to rebound in 2017

BANGKOK, January 13 (TNA) - The Competitiveness Index of Thai small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is expected to start improving as of the second quarter of this year. Thanawat Phonvichai, Director of Bangkok-based University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce's Center of Economic and Business Forecasting, told journalists on Friday that the Competitiveness Index of Thai SMEs in the 4th quarter of 2016, based on a total random samples of 1,268 in the domestic trade, service and production sectors, remained stable at 48.4, compared to that of the 3rd quarter. Thanawat explained that the lower than the compromise-50-point index was due to a drop in liquidity, sales and revenues of Thai SMEs, making them unable to meet their overall targeted revenues last year. Besides, local SMEs remain concerned over their rising costs per unit of goods, but their prices of products have been monitored by authorities. The senior economist projected, however, that the Competitiveness Index of Thai SMEs should increase to 48.5 in the first quarter of this year and continue to rebound throughout the rest of the year, as they believed that the national economy should recover this year in line with positive signs domestically and globally. The senior economist pointed out that Thai SMEs' rising capability in access to capital sources and increase in the potential of their menpower, as well as more investment in information technology (IT) and innovations should also contribute to their rising Competitiveness Index. According to the senior Thai academic, the government's investment in new mega-infrastructure projects and economic stimulus measures, as well as rebounding Thai exports and farm produce prices and steady growth of the domestic tourism should also contribute to the growing local SMEs. The senior academic cautioned that there are remaining risk factors for Thai SMEs as well, including uncertainty in the United States' economic policies under new President Donald Trump and impacts from the increased US key interest rate and from the changing membership in the European Union (EU) and a slowdown in the immense Chinese economy. (TNA)