Bangkok, 8 October 2020 – The Office of SMEs Promotion (OSMEP) has signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Office of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) to support the growth of SMEs and Startups business operators via capital market mechanism and help SMEs to prepare for their readiness to raise fund in the capital market and turn into quality large entrepreneurs which are fundamentally importance for the growth of the Thai economy.
OSMEP
Director Veerapong Malai stated that OSMEP has a mission to integrate
and foster the growth and enhance the international competitiveness
of SMEs by working together with alliances in all related sectors, both public
and private. The need of SMEs to improve their capability to increase
their attractiveness and competitiveness aligns with OSMEP’s policy direction
that focuses on 3 issues: 1. Looking for marketing channels for SMEs to boost
their revenue after the COVID-19 crisis has been declined,
2. Reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and enhancing knowledge for entrepreneurs
and 3. Facilitating SMEs’ ability to access funding sources, which is an
important factor for the continuity and strenuosity of SMEs
business in the future. OSMEP believes that fundraising
mechanism in the capital market can fulfil the SMEs needs to
achieve such goal. We also hope that the collaboration under this MOU will
increase the potential of SME operators and make the evolvement of capital
market ecosystem more suitable to each SMEs group.
SEC Deputy
Secretary-General Sirivipa Supantanet said that SEC underscores the
importance of development on SMEs and Startups, aligning with the national
strategy and Thai capital market development plan. Besides the sharing of
information with OSMEP, SEC has been working with OSMEP to launch
a program which allows SMEs and Startups to raise fund through the capital
market by making the private placement offering (PP-SME). SEC has also revised
several regulations such as securities crowdfunding regulation and private
placement regulation regarding equity and convertible debenture offering, with
a view to provide SMEs and Startups more choices when decide to raise funds in
the capital market. In addition, SEC is currently in the process of
issuing new regulations which will allow SMEs and Startups that have
been doing business for some time to be able to raise funds more
widely and be eligible to list their equities in the designated secondary
market which will be set up later by SET after consultation with SEC. The
signing of MOU today is an official outset of the continuous collaboration
among the three agencies to nudge and develop SMEs’ and Startups’ ability
to access funding sources in the capital market.
SET
President Pakorn Peetathawatchai added that SET is committed to
enhance the capabilities of SMEs and Startups towards strong and
sustainable growth and become the fundamental mechanism in driving future economy
of the country. In this regard, SET by our subsidiary Live Fin Corp Co. Ltd.,
with cooperation from networking partners from both public and private sectors,
has developed LiVE Platform purporting to help prepare business
operators before their access to capital market. Furthermore, SET has
partnered with four state-owned financial institutes, namely,
Krungthai Bank (KTB), Government Saving Bank (GSB), Small and Medium
Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand (SME D Bank), and Export-Import
Bank of Thailand (EXIM Bank) to develop services for entrepreneurs
and promote the widely use of LiVE Platform. Currently, the LiVE Platform
has already provided Education Platform service. All SMEs and
Startups can access LiVE Platform at www.live-platforms.com.
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