Business closures down in May, but 54 export firms shut
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More than 50 export companies shut down last month after the baht's appreciation, while the overall number of business closures dropped, the Business Development Department reported yesterday.
“The main reason exporters closed is that they faced losses,” said Deputy Commerce Minister Natthawut Saikua.
The department reported a total of 181 export firms collapsing in the first five months of the year, including 54 in May.
According to the department’s survey, 39 per cent of businesses winding up last month said they had faced losses.
Natthawut said that although the baht depreciated slightly last month, its strength since early in the year had affected some exporters, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.
He said the department would be able to compile clearer figures on the impact of the baht’s strength on export companies next month.
Export businesses that closed last month included those in steel and ores, consumer goods, machinery, agricultural supplies, jewellery, footwear and garments.
In the first five months, 4,221 companies shut down, a decline of 7 per cent compared with the same period last year.
A total of 827 firms shut down in May, a drop of 13 per cent year on year.
A total of 30,629 firms set up new business in the first five months, an increase of 21 per cent year on year.
Of these, 6,175 companies set up last month, an increase of 26 per cent from May
2012.
Natthawut attributed the boom in start-ups to the government’s Bt2-trillion investment project, which has stimulated the growth of construction and development companies.
A total of 551,074 companies are operating in the Kingdom.
