BANGKOK(NNT) – Since the Prime Minister and Defense Minister, Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, commented on the difficulty of solving economic problems, his statement has drawn comment from different sides.
The Finance Minister, Uttama Savanayana, posted a message on his personal Facebook page, saying the government is actively working to improve the economic situation in the country even though it is facing a string of challenges, some of which are external factors, such as the ongoing trade war between the world’s economic superpowers.
All sides are working together to manage different economic issues, such as the baht’s appreciation, and projects to strengthen the domestic economy while minimizing the impact of the global economic slowdown.
The Finance Minister recently had a meeting with both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Somkid Jatusripitak, to seek additional measures to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), following an agreement between the Ministry of Finance, the Thai Bankers’ Association and the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCG).
The measures will strengthen some 100,000 SMEs and improve their ability to access financial resources. The SMEs are divided into three categories, as follows:
The first group is some 50,000 SMEs that are facing difficulties in accessing funding resources; the TCG will improve their credit guarantees. The second group is some 20,000 SMEs with loans that have almost become non-performing loans (NPLs). The TCG will improve their fund and debt structures, while financial institutions will provide them with additional loans. The third group is some 30,000 SMEs with tight financial liquidity. State-run banks, such as Krungthai Ban (KTB), the Government Savings Bank (GSB) and the SME Development Bank, will offer loans to increase financial liquidity.
These measures will be proposed to a meeting of the cabinet ministers soon, as they will improve the SMEs’ potential to access financial resources, with a budget allocation of about 100 billion baht and support from financial institutions and the TCG.
The government has prepared measures to enhance the competitiveness of the SMEs, as it recognizes that they are an important economic driver of the country this year.
