Most small and medium-sized enterprises feel their business slowdown has bottomed out, but many still have no idea when they will resume investment, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) found from its latest survey.
The survey, during late September and early October, covered 1,592 SMEs, UTCC president Sauwanee Thairungroj said on Thursday.
She said 68.8% of the respondents confirmed that business was picking up, 10.4% said not yet, and 20.8% were not sure.
Half the respondents operate at the local level, and 0.1% were involved in foreign trade.
Asked when they would resume putting money into their business, 38.8% said they still had no idea; 3% said in the last quarter of this year; 13% in the second half of next year; and 19% would hold off until 2019.
Asked to compare sales this year with last year, 62% said they were close; 25% said this year's sales were lower; and 13% enjoyed higher sales.
Asked about loan repayments, 67.8% said they never defaulted, but 32.2% defaulted for an average 2.4 months.
The UTCC's SME health index for the third quarter this year stood at 41.1, edging down from 41.3 in the previous quarter. An index below 50 shows a negative situation.
UTCC deputy president Thanawat Polvichai said Thai SMEs were like patients who had just been discharged from intensive care. Their condition would gradually improve.
He expected SMEs would speed up investment in the second half of next year after the government starts pumping money into large-scale infrastructure projects in the first quarter.