SME Committee and IndoChina Carolina Club Seminar: Promoting Access to Capital for SMEs in the Kingdom of Thailand

On February 11 at the Hilton Sukhumvit Hotel, over 40 members comprising of the Thailand and Indochina Carolina Club and AMCHAM members gathered to hear a panel of speakers discuss access to capital for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Kingdom. There are currently over 3 million SMEs in Thailand making up 70% of the workforce in the kingdom. A staggering comparison to the 6,000 multinational corporations that represent the other 30% of the workforce. Access to capital is an issue that many SMEs struggle with in order to maintain revenue. Panelists Dr. Wimonkan Kosumas, Deputy Director-General of the Office if Small and Medium Enterprise Promithon (OSMEP); Jet Tanthanapongphan, Chief Executive Officer, Credit Ok and SELF MADE FINANCE; and Lakota Teekhasaenee, Chief Financial Officer at GMO-Z.com. The evening introduced by Charles Blocker, Founder & CEO of IC Partners and AMCHAM Travel and Tourism Committee Co-Chair before being moderated by Dr. Andrew Stotz, CEO of A.Stotz Investment Research and host of the popular podcast “My Worst Investment”.

Dr. Wimonkan Kosumas started off the evening with interesting factoids regarding the current state of SMEs in Thailand. She began with OSMEP’s 2020 definition of SME, which now includes turnover rate. She went on to identify large data gaps currently present when commercial banks are looking to loan to SME. Without big data that includes non-collateral assets, repayment cycles, and other financial points, banks are finding it difficult to provide assistance to blossoming or existing SMEs. Jet followed Dr. Kosumas’ presentation with introduction to Credit OK, a company that provides an often overlooked sector in the business industry, small contractors, with access to capital and digitization. Digital transformation often being and overlooked necessity when building a small business. The presentation portion was closed out with Lalida Teekhaesanee discusses the access to cryptocurrencies as a potential resource for SMEs. While risk was present in a comparison of token value from 2018 to 2019, the reward was also visible for companies looking to smartly invest in cryptocurrencies like Aspen coin. Dr. Stotz navigated a field of curious attendees during the question and answer portion of the evening. Guests were curious about micro-lending and crowdfunding, a resource not yet available in Thailand.

The evening was sponsored by Kenan Foundation Asia and the Thailand and Indochina Carolina Club. Presentations are available on the AMCHAM member portal.