BANGKOK, 28 October 2014 – The confidence index of small-and medium-enterprise owners has risen for the first time since mid-2013 due to the government’s policy to support the SMEs sector, according to TMB Bank’s economic analysis center.
Bencharong Suwannakhiri, the director of TMB Analytics, on Monday revealed the result of the center’s survey of SME businesses’ confidence conducted in 71 provinces. For the third quarter, the confidence index rose 1.4 points from 36.6 to 38.0, which was the first increase since the index began to contract in mid-2013. The improvement was especially apparent for businesses in the Central Region and Greater Bangkok.
However, the index remains well below 50 points, meaning that the SME operators were still not very confident. The survey respondents attributed their lack of confidence to the lackluster regional economy, which weighed on consumer spending power and spending. Still, the operators believed that the situation would improve over the next 3 months due to an expected improvement in the economy that will be brought about by clearer government policies.
