FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

SMEs reminded to grab govt opportunity on products, services

SMEs reminded to grab govt opportunity on products, services

October 1 will become the first day the Finance Ministry’s new regulations on government procurement take effect, presenting a good opportunity for small and medium enterprises to gain access to more than Bt400 billion of the government’s procurement budget of over Bt1.3 trillion annually, Office of SME Promotion (OSMEP) director Weeraphong Malai said.

“The new regulations stipulate that government agencies must use at least 30 per cent of their procurement budget to purchase specified products and services from small and medium enterprises, and prioritise sourcing from SMEs located in the same province,” he pointed out. “Moreover, SMEs that enter the e-bidding process will be allowed to propose prices at a maximum of 10 per cent over the asking price.”
Weeraphong said the new regulations are expected to help both micro entrepreneurs (those with fewer than five employees and less than Bt1.5 million in income) and small entrepreneurs (those with less than 50 employees and Bt100 million income).
“Last year, government agencies procured products and services from more than 45,000 SMEs worth over Bt550 billion. However, most of them were medium-sized businesses dealing with construction with over Bt500 million in income per year. The new regulations are now expected to help small and micro entrepreneurs,” he said.
“Interested SMEs can register at OSMEP’s website. State agencies are looking to procure more than 126,000 products and services. So far, 440 entrepreneurs have registered to enter the e-bidding to provide over 1,200 products,” Weeraphong added.

RELATED
nationthailand