BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

SMEs in Thailand witnessed a rapid growth in the concluding decades of the 20th century. The number of SMEs rose from44,000 in the mid1980s 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 in Thailand was 842,329, out of which 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 in manufacturing sector at 356,806 and that in the services sector being 500,970… The SMEs in Thailand had always been risky propositions for investments due to their inabilities to provide collateral and inadequate transparencies. As a result, the SMEs suffered from limited access to finances. The 1997Asian currency crisis added to their woes, as many firms became insolvent and their loans were deemed nonperforming. 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, the Thai government declared a package ofTHB35 billion6 to be distributed to the SMEs through various governmental bodies… 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…

Answer the following question.
Q1. Explain the functions of Institute for SME Development.
Q2. How the Thai government helped the SME’s in Thai land. Discuss