BANGKOK (NNT) - Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) reports that the government will introduce new measures to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cope with the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

NESDC secretary-general Danucha Pichayanan said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has scheduled a joint meeting, on 23 June, with members of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries, the Thai Bankers’ Association and the Federation of Thai SMEs Association, to develop more effective measures to help SMEs affected by the outbreak.

 

He said the prime minister is concerned about the plight of SMEs crippled by the pandemic, as many SMEs have yet to access the government’s existing aid measures, such as the Bank of Thailand’s amended soft loan scheme, worth 250 billion baht. Other SMEs want the government to support other measures, in addition to financial assistance.

 

Mr Danucha said the government is likely to ask for more cooperation from large businesses to assist SMEs, such as buying more of their products and including SMEs in their supply chain. Large companies may be asked to become guarantors for SMEs when they apply for loans.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2021-06-21

 

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After almost 18 months of the pandemic the junta is only now realising the devastation it has allowed? SMEs are precisely the type of business that create large scale employment, not the giant conglomerates that the politicians love so much. Many of these small enterprises have closed and will not reopen. Too little too late is the government response.