The Business Development Department has vowed to ramp up support for medium-sized wholesale and retail operators listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) to raise funds to finance business expansion, in addition to ensuring their good corporate governance.
Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, the department's deputy director-general, said the department has teamed up with the SET since 2016 to promote medium-sized wholesalers and retailers listing on the SET. In that time, two firms have listed: Thanapiriya based in Chiang Rai and K&K Superstore Southern in Hat Yai.
Mr Poonpong said there are 2-3 potential operators strong enough to potentially list on the SET, but they still need to improve their accounting systems and good governance, as well as transparent management.
There are 213 smart wholesale and retail operators in the pilot project that have the potential to list on the bourse under the partnership scheme between the SET and the department, he said.
Mr Poonpong insisted listing on the SET will help strengthen the calibre of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), helping them to increase in scale because they can raise funds for future expansion and add branches to allow them to better compete with modern trade.
The department is also committed to upgrading existing traditional retailers to become smart operators by helping them systemise their store management with modern standards.
Products must be easy to find and they have to pay more attention to hygiene, he said.
Adopting technological systems for store management will also help reduce production costs and increase profits, said Mr Poonpong.
There are 400,000 small retail stores in Thailand. Thailand has around 3 million SMEs and startups, including community enterprises.
Tourism ventures make up half of all SMEs nationwide.
SMEs contribute 32-35% of the country's GDP.
Worawoot Ounjai, former president of the Thai Retailers Association, last Wednesday proposed the government set up an SME council to protect, strengthen and upgrade small businesses.
He said although SMEs that engage in a variety of industries are members of the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Chamber of Commerce, they seldom get the chance to voice their concerns.