Registration of new companies plunges by 19 per cent in first half of the year
Partly because of controls on the retail prices for the government lottery, the number of newly registered companies in Thailand dropped sharply, by 19 per cent, in the first half of the year, according to the Business Development Department.
Last month, only one new lottery-trading firm was set up, compared with 817 firms in June last year. In the first half of the year, seven new lottery traders registered, compared with 5,000 last year.
However, the department projects that the overall number of newly registered companies will continue to increase and reach 65,000 this year, thanks to better investor confidence and stronger economic growth under the junta.
“More new firms will register in the country, particularly property and construction businesses, thanks to the National Council for Peace and Order’s policy to stimulate economic growth and stabilise politics. The number of newly registered firms should reach 60,000-65,000 this year,” said Pongpun Gearaviriyapun, director-general of the department.
In the first six months, the number of new registrations dropped 19 per cent year on year to 29,466. Last month, the number of newly registered companies increased 13 per cent from May to 4,583, but the number was 10 per cent lower than in June last year.
The value of initial investment capital was down 42 per cent to Bt17.6 billion in June. In the first half, the value of combined initial investment capital dropped 46 per cent year on year to Bt118.76 billion.
Pongpun said her department foresaw a higher number of new firms because consumer confidence had risen to the highest level in eight months, amid the NCPO’s measures to invest in infrastructure development, support soft loans through eight banks to help small and medium-sized enterprises, and accelerate state-budget disbursement for the 2015 fiscal year.
In the first six months, the number of business shutdowns dropped 9 per cent year on year to 5,850. In June alone, 1,286 firms closed down. A total of 564,904 companies are still operating in the Kingdom, with combined initial investment of Bt10.79 trillion.
