New Thai company registrations up

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New Thai company registrations up 
The Nation: 17 Feb 2010
More new businesses, fewer shutdowns in January
By PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI
THE NATION
Published on February 17, 2010

New company registrations increased last month by 40.5 per cent year on year to 4,644 firms, the highest figure in almost a century, thanks to the government's stimulus measures and clearer signs of an economic recovery.

Moreover, the number of companies shutting down operations dropped by 5.35 per cent to just 1,238 firms, the lowest in nine years.

"The rising number of new firms and the drop in collapsed businesses shows the country's economy is on the rise. More new firms should be seen in the next period, and that will help promote strong economic growth," Banyong Limprayoonwong, director-general of the Business Development Department, said yesterday.

Last year, new company registrations dropped by 3.5 per cent due to the global economic meltdown. Only 41,243 companies registered over the course of year, while 17,071 firms shut their operations, up 2.9 per cent from 2008.

New businesses registrations in January and those expected in coming months are mostly in the construction, property development and service businesses in order to cash in on the government's Thai Khemkhaeng (TKK) stimulus project, which is focused on infrastructure development.

Banyong expects double-digit increases in the number of company registrations in the remaining months of the year, due to continued economic growth and the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

At present, 534,685 companies and 888 public companies are registered in the Kingdom.

In addition, to increase efficiency and facilitate business growth, the department has drawn up a plan to boost business competitiveness during the period leading up to the formation of the Asean Economic Community in 2015. Integration under the AEC will liberalise trade, service and investment among Asean countries.

Banyong said the department would set up a training programme for SMEs to ensure their competitiveness in the seamless world. Thai enterprises should thus become more efficient and able to compete after AEC integration - particularly as regards service and trading - due to their higher flexibility and strong support from the government.

Meanwhile, Thanavath Phonvichai, director of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce's Economic and Business Forecasting Centre, yesterday said the improving new-business numbers reflected greater confidence among consumers and enterprises in the recovering economy.

"The TKK project and increasing crop prices are two major factors encouraging new-business growth this year," he said, adding that more new businesses should mean more employment opportunities.