Public, private urged to help SMEs

BANGKOK, June 3 (TNA) -- Both the public and private sectors must cooperate to upgrade small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a bid to strengthen Thailand’s economy, said Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak. Mr Somkid said while delivering a special speech to members of five regional chambers of commerce at a Bangkok hotel that external factors remained significant toward driving Thailand’s economy. For example, an announcement by US President Donald Trump earlier this week that the US would withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation would definitely affect economy of several countries, said Mr Somkid. It is, therefore, vital to help improved and strengthened SME operators through adopting innovative production and trading methods, he said. Driving economy at the community level need cooperation from the private sector, said Mr Somkid, adding that this would assist Thailand’s economy to recover on a sustainable basis. Meanwhile, Kalin Sarasin, president of Thai Chamber of Commerce, said his chamber organises this kind of meeting on an annual basis to lay out what kind of development each region and province needs. The most significant factor is to develop special economy at the provincial border in an effort to distribute income to rural poor, Mr Kalin said. (TNA)