Thailand's accelerating private investment is expected to boost demand for project financing this year, according to senior bank executives.
Private investment will rev up, prompted by the government's big-ticket infrastructure projects, though the country's economy is expected to grow at a slower pace in 2019, said Virasak Sutanthavibul, senior executive vice-president of Bangkok Bank (BBL).
With the brighter picture on the domestic front, loan demand for small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) projects has continued to improve, Mr Virasak said.
BBL has set an SME loan growth target for this year of 4-5%, similar to last year. Building and construction, food and beverage, and textiles are key sectors expected to contribute.
Amid the changing technology and economic landscape across the world, SMEs should adapt to e-commerce as a tool to widen business opportunities for local SMEs, Mr Virasak said.
Total e-commerce market value in Thailand amounted to 3.2 trillion baht in 2018, up from 3 trillion the year before, Mr Virasak said at the bank's "2019 E-commerce Trend" seminar yesterday.
He said BBL has encouraged SME customers to use a single financial account after new lending practices under the single financial account scheme for SMEs came into force on Jan 1.
With the single account, it's easier for SMEs to access financial sources from financial institutions, he said, adding that BBL has used information-based lending for SME loan analysis.
Under the single account scheme, the central bank requires banks to consider only financial statements submitted to the Revenue Department when considering SME loans.
Mr Virasak said the trade war between the US and China will benefit Thailand and Vietnam as foreign investors relocate productions bases.
Bank of Ayudhya (BAY) also expects to deliver positive loan growth from Japan-based corporate customers, thanks to Thailand's improving private investment outlook.
Japanese clients have signalled higher investment outlays in Thailand this year compared with the past few years, supported by improving domestic investment, said chief finance officer Duangdao Wongpanitkrit.