Commerce Ministry to help cushion protest impacts for entrepreneurs

BANGKOK, April 28 (TNA) – Commerce Ministry has mapped out measures to assist businesses facing difficulties from the ongoing protests consisting of cost reduction and trade fairs for stock clearance, according to the Permanent Secretary Yanyong Phuangrach.

Mr Yanyong spoke after a meeting Wednesday with shopping mall operators and retailers affected by the anti-government protests of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) at the Ratchaprasong intersection and other entrepreneurs that the ministry is to hold a special trade fair under the Thailand Grand Sales fair in order that department stores and retailers can sell their items at a lower price for stock clearance.

The meeting was held to estimate the impacts and losses caused by the current protests. Over 100 participants included representatives from the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Thai Rice Packers Association, Thai Gem & Jewellery Traders Association, Thai Leathergoods Association, Central Department Store, the Mall Group, MBK Centre, and some convenience stores, among others.

According to Mr Yanyong, the ministry will cooperate with them also in setting up a direct sales trade fair May 5-9 to honour His Majesty the King’s 60th anniversary of his accession the throne.

Moreover, Commerce Ministry is planning to find locations for business owners to showcase their merchandise both at a Blue Flag Fair, regularly held during economic slowdowns to help reduce the costs of living and offer more channels of goods to consumers, and at Department of Export Promotion (DEP) trade fairs in Thailand and abroad, which includes the neighbouring countries of Myanmar, Laos and Indonesia.

Mr Yanyong said the ministy is considering seeking added budget, which can be a normal budget and a special budget, in order to help cushion the impacts from the protests to those entrepreneurs affected.

He said initially a budget for help measures may be drawn from the ministry’s own budget, and business associations are now gathering the list of impacted companies for receiving assistance.

Meanwhile, Thai Retailers Association Thanapon Tangkananan president estimated that the economic loss due to the ongoing protests was around Bt1 billion per day, while saying affected business owners were seeking two periods of assistance from the government: during and after the protests.

An economic forecast said that entrepreneurs would be financially impacted for another year, for the protest sites are important shopping areas for tourists.

In a related development, Kasikorn Bank executive vice president Pakorn Partanapat said business loans of the bank’s customers at the Ratchaprasong intersection amount to around Bt2 billion which was considered a relatively small percentage of the total small- and medium-enterprise (SMEs) loans of about Bt370 billion. He said the customers  still normally pay their debt installments.

However, Mr Pakorn said if the situation prolong for a few months, the impacts will be on a larger scale, and Kasikorn Bank is ready to issue measures to aid those facing financial obstacles by considering assistance according to a case-by-case basis.

He said this year’s SMEs loans are expected to expand 8-10 per cent, or around Bt20 billion, making the SME loan portfolio increase to Bt390 billion from the current Bt370 billion. SME loans in the first quarter this year, he said, has grown one per cent, from minus two per cent last year. Under the prolonged protests, Mr Pakorn predicted that Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) would increase only 2.6-3.9 per cent. (TNA)