Thailand
Thailand – Survey: SMEs still uncertain
Some 70% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) say their business has bottomed out, but most remain uncertain of when they will start investing again, according to a survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).
As many as 38.8% of respondents were unsure when they will invest again, 3% said they would invest this quarter, 13% in the second half of next year and 19% in 2019, said UTCC president Saowanee Thairungroj.
The university conducted the survey from late September to mid-October with 1,592 SME respondents, of which half were small operators and a mere 0.1% were engaged in outbound exports.
Mrs Saowanee said 68.8% of respondents thought their business was picking up, while 10.4% said business had not recovered yet and the rest were uncertain.
Some 61.6% of respondents said sales this year were similar to last year’s, 24.9% said this year’s sales were lower and 13.6% said sales were higher.
Asked whether their debt repayments had been late, 67.8% said they had never made a late payment and 32.2% said they had missed payments (by 2.4 months on average).
Regarding SME competitiveness, the index edged lower to 41.1 for the July-to-September period from 41.3 in the second quarter.
The index splits at 50 between good and poor competitive edge.
SMEs were hit hard by economic doldrums in recent years, and many of them have not seen gains from the economic and export rebounds.
According to the minutes of the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee at its latest meeting in September, small-business gains have come mostly in the commercial, construction and industrial sectors, reflecting an economic recovery that is not broad-based.
Thanavath Phonvichai, vice-president for research at the UTCC, said SME operators are like patients who have just recovered from critical condition and are expected to improve further.
SME operators’ investments are likely to accelerate in the second half of next year after many big-ticket infrastructure projects get under way, Mr Thanavath said.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1345710/survey-smes-still-uncertain