SMEs persuaded to invest on Thai bourse

BANGKOK, February 18 (TNA) - In an attempt to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the Ministry of Commerce's Department of Business Development has invited operators of 65 SMEs to visit the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and persuade them to be listed on the Thai bourse. The department's deputy director-general, Rattana Thienvisitsakul, led the 65 operators of SMEs, each with a minimum registered capital of 20 million baht and annual revenue of 200 million baht, to the Thai stock market, where they were briefed on how to mobilise funds and change their status to be public companies limited. Rattana suggested that operators of SMEs will have a long-term funding source if they are listed on the Thai bourse, where they can mobilise funds directly from stock investors without having to borrow money and pay interest to financial institutes. Besides, the senior official pointed out, operators of SMEs will gain a better image for business transparency and accountability, while being able to run their businesses professionally and offer better incentives to their staff, namely holding their companies' shares. The senior official acknowledged that by listing on the Thai stock market, local SMEs can sustain their businesses in the long run and can cope with the growing regional economy as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has already come into force since January 1, 2016. (TNA)