Big five helping small firms export
FIVE LEADING Thai corporations - TCC Group, Saha Group, CP Group, Central Group, and Loxley - have successfully helped 85 small and medium-sized enterprises do business in the international arena and potentially tap rich revenue streams.
The project is part of the Commerce Ministry’s strategy to support SME growth by encouraging long-established firms to help the SMEs start exporting or expand their businesses to other countries.
Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, director-general to the ministry’s International Trade Promotion Department, said the initiative aimed to strengthen the competitiveness of Thai businesses in a seamless regional market.
“Under the Hand-to-Hand project to promote business growth, leading Thai companies agreed to help educate and train SMEs to start trading and investing abroad since May this year.
Until now, 85 SMEs have been trained and can export to Asean and China markets,” she said.
Nuntawan said that it is a real bonus that the corporations accepted there is a need to help SMEs to do business, as well as support them in trading internationally.
Under the project, large firms also help SMEs and One Tambon One Product producers by selecting potential goods to sell overseas through their shops, hotels or supply-chain businesses.
Throughout this year and next year, about 500 SMEs will be targeted for training and education by established corporations to help them do business broad.
Each corporation will train SMEs in relation to particular markets.
For instance, CP has trained three SMEs in food industry and two from the plastics industry to sell their products at 79 branches to Tesco in China.
Saha Group has helped four SMEs penetrate the clothing and fashion market in Cambodia.
Central Group has helped promote nine SMEs to sell their products at modern traders in Vietnam and Indonesia.
