The governments of Thailand and Hong Kong have joined hands to promote trade among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for product distribution online.
Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana said the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (Osmep) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) during the four-day Thai trade and investment road show in Hong Kong and mainland China, which started on Wednesday this week.
"The HKTDC will help promote Thai SME products on its website," said Mr Uttama.
This is another marketing channel to help distribute Thai goods in Hong Kong and across the world, he said. The council could also use Thailand as a production and distribution base for Asean.
Mr Uttama said the government would select around 200 Thai SMEs with strong potential soon to be promoted on the HKTDC website.
The products are expected to be varied, including fashion, lifestyle, food, consumer products and jewellery.
He said Hong Kong also requested for Thailand set up a joint venture fund to provide support and develop SMEs in both locations.
Thailand has also signed MoUs with South Korea to create cooperation in supporting SMEs of the two countries, enabling technology transfer and marketing cooperation to increase their competitive advantage over the long term.
"That is a part of our attempt to push towards the Thailand 4.0 era," he said.
The Thai government plans to hold a seminar in Bangkok on investment between Thailand and Hong Kong on May 8, expecting the event to attract new investment from Hong Kong to the Eastern Economic Corridor, said Mr Uttama.
The Industry Ministry expects to support 3,000 SMEs this year by accelerating its assistance measures. The ministry wants to help SME businesses to expand overseas.
To support Thai SMEs and startups, Mr Uttama said the government has created three funds. There is a fund to improve their competitiveness with 37 billion baht in funding, including a revolving fund of 20 billion under the Pracha Rat (People's State) scheme, as well as the SME Development Bank's fund valued at 15 billion baht. Osmep also has a fund to help SMEs with some 2 billion baht.