Bangkok, The Minister of Industry kicked off the 'SME Green Productivity Loan' with a budget of 15 billion baht, low interest rate of 3% per year, fixed for the first 3 years, giving SME D Bank to upgrade Thai SMEs and expand into the green industry. Ms. Pimpattra Wichaikul, Minister of Industry, said in the opening ceremony of 'SME Green Productivity Loan Project to Enhance SME Productivity to Green Industry' that the Ministry of Industry is accelerating the policy to promote the production and use of clean energy and renewable energy to be in line with the sustainable development of the economy and the environment, continuing the Carbon Neutrality policy to make Thailand a leader in ASEAN in reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. Therefore, it supports the industrial sector and Thai SME entrepreneurs to enhance their productivity to enter the green industry or 'Green Industry', which will create benefits to help entrepreneurs have higher competitive potential, reduce business costs, and be able to adapt to new international trade rules, along with being environmentally friendly, using clean energy, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions into nature. The industrial sector is with the community, creating jobs, distributing income, leading to a happy society, and creating a strong and sustainable foundation for Thailand. The transformation of businesses to green industries requires knowledge along with capital to adjust systems, equipment, innovations or technologies. However, currently, more than half of the 3.2 million SME entrepreneurs in the system do not have access to capital from financial institutions in the system. The government needs to help create opportunities for SME entrepreneurs to access capital through the 'SME Green Productivity Loan' project with a budget of 15 billion baht and assign the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand (SME D Bank), a state-owned specialized financial institution, as the main agency to work with various partners in the public and priva te sectors to support SME entrepreneurs to access capital in the project, which has a highlight as a low-interest loan of only 3% per year, fixed for the first 3 years, a maximum loan amount of 10 million baht, repayable for up to 10 years, and no principal repayment for the first 12 months. In addition, conditions and collateral are relaxed, allowing SME entrepreneurs to have low-interest capital and a long repayment period to be able to develop and upgrade their businesses to green industries smoothly. The goal is to support SME entrepreneurs to access funding sources and increase productivity for more than 1,500 people, as well as create benefits and employment for more than 24,000 positions, create money circulating in the economic system of more than 68,700 million baht, and help solve structural problems in the industrial sector, supporting the reduction of greenhouse gases in SME businesses by approximately 345,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. Mr. Pichit Mitrawong, Managing Director of SME D Bank, said that SME D Bank is in line with the government's policy to enhance the productivity of SMEs to enter the green industry through the 'SME Green Productivity' loan project. Initially, it will work with 11 partner agencies from both the public and private sectors, namely the Department of Industrial Promotion, the Small Industry Credit Guarantee Corporation, the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, the Federation of Thai Industries, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade of Thailand, the Tourism Council of Thailand, the Federation of Thai SMEs, the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion, the Automotive Institute, the National Productivity Institute, and the Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (Public Organization) to promote and support SME entrepreneurs to access 'development', add knowledge and skills, and access low-interest 'capital sources' to develop and change systems, equipment, innovations, or technologies efficiently. This will help SME entrepreneurs to have h igher productivity and step into the green industry, creating strong and sustainable growth for Thailand in terms of economy, society, and environment, in accordance with the government's policy. SME entrepreneurs interested in the 'SME Green Productivity Loan' can inform their intentions from today onwards at SME D Bank branches nationwide or inquire for more information at the Call Center at 1357. Source: Thai News Agency