Cabinet orders more financial support for SMEs
The Cabinet has ordered the Ministry of Finance to come up with plans to provide additional financial aid to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who have been affected by the Covid-19 situation, Government Spokesperson Narumon Pinyosinwat said on Tuesday (May 26).
“The Ministry of Finance will estimate the budget to be used as well as the loan limit and interest rate and will present to the Cabinet again in the next meeting,” she added.
A source said that the ministry’s survey revealed SME operators who were unable to obtain loans during Covid-19 were mostly those who had never applied for a loan from financial institutions before, resulting in these institutions having no record of their repayment ability and therefore refusing to grant loans to avoid risk. Furthermore, some SMEs were rejected loans because they have their status listed under non-performing loans although they still have the capacity to continue their businesses.
The source added that the Ministry of Finance has assigned the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP) to come up with measures tailored specifically to help SMEs in the above two groups, such as providing loans from the OSMEP’s fund instead of relying on financial institutions. The measures are expected to be ready by the end of July.
