The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) urged the incoming government to implement measures to ensure the survival of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
FTI Vice-chairman Apichit Prasoprat called on the new government to implement a fresh economic stimulus package to assist SMEs weakened by a lack of liquidity, rising minimum wages, higher electricity bills, and expensive raw materials. He stressed that tourism recovery does not benefit all SMEs and that it is difficult for them to survive if the domestic economy is not fully recovered while the global economy is stagnant.
The FTI vice-chairman is also worried about higher interest rates, which increase financial costs for SMEs. He further noted that businesses face intense competition as more products from China are imported into Thailand through online shopping platforms and encouraged the government to explore measures to safeguard Thai SMEs.
To help businesses, the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) recently voted to increase the policy rate from 2% to 2.25%, which is the highest level in nine years. The FTI vice-chairman hopes that the MPC will continue to keep this rate unchanged to assist businesses in the long run. (NNT)
