Micro enterprises top credit guarantee clients

Micro enterprises made up 91% of Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation’s (TCG) credit guarantee clients, each receiving a guarantee of less than 100,000 baht per case.
According to TCG president Sittikorn Direksoonthorn, 91% of the corporation’s clients seeking a credit guarantee in the first nine months of 2024 received an average guarantee amount of just 90,000 baht per case. The other 9% were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with an average guarantee amount of 4.71 million baht per case.
The majority of micro enterprise clients, based on the guarantee amounts, were in the manufacturing and trade sector (26%), services (18%), consumer goods (17%), food and beverages (15%) and agriculture (8%).
According to Mr Sittikorn, during the nine-month period TCG guaranteed loans worth 34.5 billion baht, creating economic value of more than 141 billion baht. Some 70,634 micro and SME entrepreneurs obtained additional credit, generating loans within the financial system of more than 36.2 billion baht, allowing them to maintain 311,948 jobs, according to TCG.
The top three business sectors receiving the highest guarantee amounts were services (27.8%), manufacturing and other trades (12%) and food and beverages (9.87%). These three categories accounted for a combined 50% of TCG’s guarantees.
He said these guarantee figures reflect increased investment by small entrepreneurs, especially in the tourism and service sectors, towards the end of this year in preparation for the high season in the fourth quarter.
The high season for tourism is expected to inject a significant amount of money into the economy, said Mr Sittikorn.
The company also offered free advice and development of business potential for SMEs through a team of financial experts via its SME Financial Advisory Centre. From August 2020 to Sept 30, 2024, the centre served 21,737 cases.
In addition, over the past nine months, 2,727 debtors have undergone debt restructuring since the measure was established in April 2022. A total of 16,068 debtors participated in the debt restructuring programme and received debt settlements, amounting to more than 7.24 billion baht.
To enable SMEs to better access services, in addition to TCG’s 11 regional offices nationwide, entrepreneurs can now register for consultations via the Line app, he said.