BANGKOK (NNT) – Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanavisit, speaking during the APEC trade ministers’ meeting, assured that the Thai government is working to ensure Thais have equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, supports moves to ease restrictions on cross-border goods transport and exempts taxes on medical supplies.
He told the meeting the pandemic has affected the business sector and economic growth in the region, adding Thailand has dealt with the crisis by adopting modern trade models, such as on-line trade and business matching, to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-SMEs with opportunities to export their goods.

Mr. Jurin said Thailand supports connectivity among APEC countries by calling for restrictions on international travel to be relaxed. Thailand will reopen its tourism industry, with Phuket to be the first province to welcome back foreign tourists and waive the quarantine requirement for those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, under the so-called “Phuket Tourism Sandbox” program, starting on July 1.

The minister added that the Thai government is also supporting sustainable trade practices, such as promoting its bio-circular-green economy (BCG) development scheme, as a model for post-COVID economic recovery.

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BANGKOK (NNT) – Small and medium businesses are asking the government to help absorb their operational costs and rents as businesses continue to suffer from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) has made suggestions on what the government could do to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in which cost cutting measures come out on top.

After a survey of CEOs across 45 industries, the FTI has concluded SMEs want the government to help absorb their business costs, such as utility bills and rents, in order to help them survive the pandemic-driven economic crisis.

They suggest the SME sector could use a 30% reduction in utility bills, and a 50% reduction on their rents and the associated fees collected by shopping malls and factories.

They suggest the government could introduce a tax rebate campaign for the lessors, encouraging them to cut rental prices during the crisis.

The FTI says SMEs are now facing a bigger crisis than in the situation last year, particularly due to workplace outbreaks and the lack of liquidity to sustain operations.

On feedback about economic measures introduced by the government, the FTI finds the co-pay and payout campaigns promoting domestic spending to be the most beneficial to small and medium businesses, followed by the reduction in required Social Security contributions, and soft loans.

On the government’s issuance of an Emergency Decree to seek 500 billion baht in loans, FTI executives say this portion of money should be used mostly to stimulate domestic consumption, then on financial aid and compensation to the general public and affected businesses.

Most executives surveyed believe a spending plan based on the 500 billion baht loan could help Thailand’s economy recover to normal in mid-2022.

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BANGKOK (NNT) – To help farmers and members of agricultural cooperatives who are struggling to sell their produce because of the COVID-19 situation, the government’s Department of Agricultural Extension is buying agricultural goods that are facing marketing issues at this time. The goods will be distributed to physicians, nurses and people affected by the outbreak.

BANGKOK (NNT) – Despite the continuing hindrance of COVID-19, expanding exports and state consumption have turned the Thai economic trend positive.

Fiscal Policy Advisor Wuttipong Jittangsakul, reported today that Thai exports rose to over 21 billion USD in value in April, growing 13.1 percent on-year, the highest rate in 36 months. Best performing goods included vehicles and automotive accessories, agricultural and goods and foods, and related work-from-home items. The nation’s top trading partners continued to be the United States, China, the European Union and South Asia.

Private consumption also improved on the same period last year. New car registrations soared 65.8 percent, in line with a 9.8 percent expansion in agricultural revenue. Passenger car sales grew a huge 92.4 percent despite dropping slightly from March as consumer confidence fell from 48.5 points to 46, due to concerns to do with the latest wave of COVID-19 infection. Nonetheless, stimulus measures such as Rao Chana and Article 33 helped to energize commerce.

Private investment was positive in April with imports of base goods continuing on an upward trend, in particular construction materials needed for government infrastructure projects.

Economic stability was described as good with inflation at 3.4 percent and public debt in March at 54.3 percent of the GDP, within fiscal discipline limits. The foreign reserve ended April at a high of over 8 trillion baht.

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