SME D Bank reveals Q2/67 confidence index at 52.06, down due to SMEs recommending the government inject money to stimulate purchasing power. Mr. Pichit Mitrawong, Managing Director of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand (SME D Bank), said that SME D Bank, in collaboration with Thammasat University, found that the overall confidence index for Q2/2024 was at 52.06, slightly down from Q1, which was at 52.36, due to SMEs being concerned about higher operating costs, economic slowdown in both the domestic and global economies, lack of clarity in government policies and economic stimulus measures, reduced purchasing power of customers, and lack of liquidity in business operations. When separated by industry type, 55 percent of manufacturing SMEs have higher confidence than other groups because in Q2/2024, they began to see signs of recovery in the tourism sector, domestic consumption, and exports. This made manufacturing businesses in the industrial sector confident that their performance and liquidity would improve and that they were more confident in their investments. In addition, the agricultural sector saw continued increases in agricultural product prices. The construction contractor group had the lowest confidence and was lower than other businesses, similar to the first quarter of 2024. For the forecast for the next 3 months (Q3/2024), SME entrepreneurs have overall confidence increasing to 58.60, increasing in almost every aspect, especially in terms of performance, number of purchase orders, selling prices of goods, business liquidity, and production volume, as the overall economy is expected to improve. However, concerns about operating costs remain at the same level. SME entrepreneurs want the government to provide timely relief measures. The measures that SME entrepreneurs, micro enterprises, and small enterprises want the most are measures to inject money into the economic system to stimulate purchasing power, while medium-sized enterprises want investment measures to raise sta ndards or improve production efficiency. Mr. Pichit concluded that economic factors do not support SMEs to have much confidence and there are still concerns about increasing costs. In addition, SMEs still need support measures to create an environment conducive to business growth. Therefore, we are ready to provide "Smile Biz, a business that can be borrowed after doing business for 1 year. The maximum loan amount is 5 million baht, the interest rate starts at 6.50% per year, the maximum repayment period is 7 years, and the maximum principal payment is exempted for 6 months. In addition, there is a special promotion for entrepreneurs who have never used SME D Bank's loan services before. When applying for a loan and being approved from 1 million baht or more by September 30, 2024, receive a cash back of up to 3,000 baht. Along with providing free business development services via the platform 'DX' by SME D Bank (dx.smebank.co.th) that gathers complete support for SME entrepreneurs in one place, such as Busi ness Health Check, a business health assessment system, E-Learning, a collection of important knowledge courses, business consultants and advice from professional coaches, a booking system for continuous knowledge-adding activities throughout the year, and many other special privileges. You can notify your intention to receive services, both in terms of finance and development, through various channels, such as LINE Official Account: SME Development Bank, website www.smebank.co.th, and SME D Bank branches nationwide, etc. For more information, call the Call Center at 1357. Source: Thai News Agency