Thai government to assist SMEs

BANGKOK, June 9 (TNA) - The Thai government plans to provide financial support for business development to local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who oversees economic affairs, announced the plan on Thursday, saying that the state-run Small Business Credit Guarantee Corporation will be assigned to play a key role under the plan by extending loans to local SMEs. Somkid told reporters that the plan will be proposed before the Thai Cabinet for further consideration and decision soon. Buoyed by a recent US-based World Bank forecast that Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) should grow by at least 2.5 per cent year-on-year this year, from 2 per cent in its projection early this year, and by at least 2.6 per cent next year, Somkid acknowledged, however, that reforms are still needed for Thailand because income of the grassroots remains low. The deputy premier stressed that it is vital to help raise income of the grassroots in order to boost the national economy and to eventually increase investment in the country. "Thailand is the only country in East Asia and the Pacific that the World Bank has latest revised upward its projection on the country's GDP growth in 2016, while having revised downward its forecast on the global economic growth this year to 2.4 per cent year-on-year, from 2.9 per cent projected early this year", the deputy prime minister pointed out. In the meantime, the US-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that the Thai economy should keep growing gradually at 3 per cent year-on-year in 2016 and 3.2 per cent in 2017, after expanding by 2.8 per cent year-on-year in 2015. Meanwhile, Bangkok-based University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce’s Economic and Business Research Centre reported that Thailand’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) fell for the fifth consecutive month in May 2016 to 72.6, the lowest level since October 2015, due to a slow recovery in the national economy and people's purchasing power. The centre's Director, Thanawat Phonvichai, who is also the university's Deputy Rector for Academic and Research Work, urged government agencies to speed up their budget disbursements to spur the national economy for more employment and income of people. (TNA)