TMB, Betagro join forces for boost to food industry's competitiveness
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TMB Bank has teamed up with Betagro Group, a leading agro-industrial company, to boost the efficiency of supply chains in the food industry.
Boontuck Wungcharoen, CEO of TMB Bank, said yesterday that the food industry was the biggest employer with 15-16 per cent of the workforce and its revenue ranked fifth. At Bt1.86 trillion, the industry contributed 16.4 per cent of gross domestic product.
The cost of food, however, was 72 per cent, regarded as a high level, so, if this category could cut costs by 1 per cent, the industry will save about Bt13 billion and boost GDP by 0.1 percentage point.
TMB and Betagro would launch a four-month practical training programme to help the food supply chain to manage costs.
The bank plans to offer the same programme to the auto and electronics parts industries.
SMEs that are interested in the programme must be food operators with annual turnover of Bt10 million-Bt500 million.
TMB is focusing on cost management as this can strengthen its growth for the
long term. Its cost-to-income ratio improved to 57 per cent last year from 73 per cent in 2010.
Through the efficiency improvement campaign, TMB has acquired 300,000 retail, 6,000-10,000 SME and 500-600 wholesale customers. The refinance rate of SME customers was also slashed from 5 per cent to 1 per cent, he said.
Paphon Mangkhalathanakun, chief SME banking officer, said the bank saw some defaults by SME customers following the economic slowdown, but it expects the efficiency improvement for supply chain programme to help reduce the problem.
Betagro Group has learned that cost management can reinforce its bottom line and support its supply chain network. The group this year targets Bt500 million in cost savings.
Vasit Taepaisitphongse, president of Betagro, said the company expects its sales to grow 15 per cent to Bt70 billion this year.
Japan is Betagro’s main overseas market and it has shown signs of recovery in the past four months. Several exporters have eased their concerns over the Japanese market thanks to Abeconomics, he added.
