Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are urged to register their businesses under the juristic person regime in order to obtain a variety of incentives meant to boost their competence.
SMEs number about 3 million in Thailand, but only 800,000 are registered because of concerns about the income tax burden, according to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Gen Prayut said the government has been implementing assistance and business incentives for SMEs and startups through ministry projects, along with the government's digital transformation roadmap.
"It is hard to access the incentives to scale up their businesses unless they are registered businesses," the premier said.
The government's incentives include sources of funds, business connectivity, knowledge exchange and training courses.
Sakon Varanyuwatana, the vice-minister for commerce, said many unregistered SMEs are a pain point despite the government's proactive policy to promote trade and investment in the country and cross-border commerce, especially e-commerce.
"Registration today is done via the e-registration platform and is much easier than in the past," Mr Sakon said.
He said Thailand's e-commerce with neighbouring markets is worth nearly US$5.7 billion or 189.8 billion baht. The value grows by about 8% each year.
According to the latest report of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), the market value of Thailand's e-commerce is expected to reach 3.06 trillion baht this year, up 8.5% from 2.81 trillion last year.
The market value of business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce in Thailand has ranked the highest in Southeast Asia for years, reaching $23.33 billion in 2017.
The Commerce Ministry is trying to boost local enterprises' capability to grow through collaboration with neighbouring markets, especially with CLMVT partners Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
With a combined population of 237 million and average GDP growth of 5.8%, the CLMVT region has attracted entrepreneurs worldwide to invest in manufacturing and expand their market, resulting in unceasing economic opportunities in the region.
The Commerce Ministry in collaboration with many partner organisations will present the CLMVT Forum 2018: Taking Off Through Technology during Aug 16-17.