New centre organised to help make SMEs more competitive
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BUSINESS organisations yesterday announced the launch of the Centre for Building Competitive Enterprises (CBCE) to help small and medium-sized enterprises maintain sustainable growth.
“The centre will gather a number of professionals specialising in various aspects of business management,” said Chanin Vongkusolkit, chairman of the CBCE.
The centre, a joint effort of the Thai Listed Companies Association (TLCA), the Stock Exchange of Thailand and the Federation of Accounting Professions, aims to provide SMEs with advisory services to enhance their competitiveness and sustain their growth.
The centre is a collaboration among private businesses on the basis of cluster-to-cluster networking, and not between the private sector and the government.
The project is also in line with the government’s policy to strengthen SMEs to drive the country’s economic growth.
Deputy Commerce Minister Suvit Maesincee yesterday said in a speech at the launch of the CBCE and a “Building Competitive Enterprise” seminar that SMEs were vital to the economy and needed to adjust to the new business environment.
“Apart from focusing on customers and core competition, the businesses in the new ecosystem need to focus more on a spirit of collaboration,” Suvit said.
“Building competitive enterprises can be truly a structural change for the country’s economy. This can also help Thailand get free from the trap of being a middle-income country,” he said.
The centre will also launch a training course with a workshop programme for top executives to learn about management skills. Applications will be open for executives of listed and non-listed companies, especially SMEs, and will be available from October 1-30.
“At the first stage, we will be open for 50 applications,” said Surong Bulakul, chairman of the TLCA, adding that the criteria for the selection process would be announced later.
Kerasa Manchusree, president of the SET, said the organisation was ready to support both listed and non-listed companies to make them more competitive. “If there are more than 50 applicants, we will consider those who are in urgent need first.”
