BANGKOK, 11 November 2014 – Most small- and medium-sized businesses are still worried about the condition of the economy during the final months of 2014, according to a survey by Dhurakij Pundit University.
Kiat-anan Luankaew, the university’s assistant deputy rector for research, revealed that the survey of small- and medium- enterprises in 12 provinces found that 41.1% deemed the third quarter economic performance as being worse than expected. This group also believed that the economy would perform similarly in the final quarter of the year. As many as 13.2% of the business operators believed their operation would experience loss. At the same time, 48.2% of the businesses believed the economy would improve next quarter; on average, the survey respondents believed GDP would grow by 3.28% in 2015.
The SME operators indicated they would increase their emphasis on E-marketing and also improve on customer service. However, the survey found that most SMEs were ill-equipped to compete within the ASEAN Community, as they are lacking in language skill, business allies, capital sources and import-export risk management.
