THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

SME BANK EYES 1M CLIENTS

SME BANK EYES 1M CLIENTS

The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank (SME Bank) aims to increase its customer base to one million over the next three years after a planned capital increase of Bt8 billion.

SME Bank president Mongkol Leelatham, president for SME Bank, said that the fund-raising would boost the bank’s capital to Bt18 billion.
The proceeds will be used to extend loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under a target to ramp up the number of customers from around 100,000 now to the one million mark.
“The capital increase plan was approved by the Cabinet meeting on December 19, 2017, with the purpose of upgrading the bank’s loan extensions to the country’s SMEs, particularly small SMEs,” Mongkol said.
The individual loan amount has been lowered to Bt1 million each customer, from Bt3.2 million, reflecting the focus on the bank’s smaller customers, he said. In the next three years, the bank expects the loan amount to be reduced to Bt320,000 per customer, he said.
SME Bank’s capital adequacy ratio stands at 11 per cent. Its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio is 16 per cent of total outstanding loans on expectations for 14 per cent by the end of this year and 8 per cent in 2021.
Mongkol said that the bank yesterday announced it would cooperate with King Mongkul’s University of Technology Thonburi and the National Science Technology and Innovation Policy Office on promoting startups and SMEs.
The bank has set aside Bt58 billion for loans to boost small SMEs directly and indirectly. Of the total, Bt50 billion will be lent out to boost the economy at the community level.

SHORT LIST FOR NBTC POSTS

The committee tasked with drawing up a short list of candidates to serve as new commissioners of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has this week whittled down the number to 14. 
Seven of the candidates will be selected by the National Legislative Assembly to fill the NBTC seats. The new NBTC body will comprise seven commissioners, with each coming from one of seven sectors: radio broadcasting , TV broadcasting, telecommunications , engineering, law, economics, and consumer |protection.
 

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