TCG aims for a million smaller clients by 2020

For micro-businesses, the TCG has launched a second-phase programme to guarantee loans of not more than Bt200,000 per account, for a total of Bt13.5 billion, between now and the end of the year. It targets between 130,000 and 150,000 accounts in this market segment.

In the first phase of this |programme last year, the corporation guaranteed loans totalling Bt5 billion for 49,000 micro-business accounts, TCG president Nitid Manoonporn said in an interview with The Nation.

The TCG has also proposed to the Finance Ministry |that the corporation guarantee Bt10 billion worth |of loans for start-up and innovative businesses this year, after the first phase, which ended last year, guaranteed loans totalling Bt2.1 billion for 3,000 ventures in this segment.

“We have proposed this to the Finance Ministry and are waiting for approval, expecting to kick off this project in the second half of this year,” Nitid said.

For SMEs, the TCG plans to focus on agriculture and agricultural processing under a “One Tambon One SME” project in collaboration with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, to guarantee loans for the bank’s customers, he said.

He added that the TCG had also proposed to the Finance Ministry that legislation be amended so as to expand the corporation’s authority to guarantee loans from non-banks such as hire-purchase businesses. This would help SMEs, start-ups and innovative and micro-businesses access loans for future expansion.

According to the TCG’s database, the total number of SMEs, start-ups, and innovative and micro-businesses in Thailand is 2.7 million, but only 700,000 are able to get loans from the commercial banks to support their expansion. Most of the rest have to seek financing from non-banks.

“If we can guarantee loans for SMEs that have to borrow from non-banks, this will help them get more money for business expansion and improve their long-term stability,” Nitid said.

The TCG also plans to set up an academy to provide financial knowledge for small to medium-sized businesses in these categories on how to collaborate with big corporates and commercial banks in such areas as marketing, accounting and management.

Nitid targets the TCG guaranteeing an average of Bt100 billion worth of loans annually for at least a million such businesses by 2020.

Currently, TCG’s total cumulative loan guarantees are valued at Bt519.88 billion for 220,000 SMEs. In the first quarter of this year, TCG guaranteed loans worth Bt25.68 billion for 7,392 new SME clients.

“We believe that we will provide loan guarantees worth at least Bt100 billion this year,” Nitid said.