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IMPORTANCEOF SMEs IN THE THAI ECONOMY
SMEs in Thailand witnessed a rapid growth in the concluding decades of the 20th century.
The number of SMEs rose from44,000 in the mid-1980s to 90,000 by 1996. In
1997, out of the total of 803,201 of business enterprises in Thailand, 799,003 were SMEs. In
2001, the total number of enterprises inThailand was 842,329, out ofwhich large enterprises
were 4,168, the remaining being the SMEs. By 2002, the number of SMEs was 1,639,427
(99.63%) out of a total of 1,645,530 Thai enterprises with SMEs inmanufacturing sector at
356,806 and that in the services sector being 500,970...
POLICIES OF GOVERNMENT TOSUPPORT SMEs
The SMEs inThailand had always been risky propositions for investments due to their inabilities
to provide collateral and inadequate transparencies.As a result, the SMEs suffered fromlimited
access to finances. The 1997Asian currency crisis added to their woes, asmany firms became
insolvent and their loanswere deemed non-performing.The commercial banks started avoiding
the SME segment that further deteriorated the financials standing of the SMEs. Under such
conditions in1999, for the first time, theThai government declared a package ofTHB35 billion6
to be distributed to the SMEs through various governmental bodies...
INSTITUTE FOR SME DEVELOPMENT (ISMED)
In 1999, the Thai government established a human resource development organisation
called ‘Institute for SME Development’. The institute was established to ensure sustained
development of the SMEs by providing thorough training to the entrepreneurs on
marketing,management, technology and for improvement of international competitiveness
(Exhibit VII). The Ministry of Industry managed the institute with the cooperation from
Thammasat University...
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