Thai KBank moves another step to bolster local SMEs
VGP - Viet Nam’s Agency for Enterprise Development (AED) and Thailand’s Kasikorn Bank (KBank) last week signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the promotion of the development of small- and medium- sized enterprises and economic co-operation between the two countries.
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PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Thailand's PM Prayut Chan-o-cha witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Viet Nam’s Agency for Enterprise Development (AED) and Thailand’s Kasikorn Bank on the sidelines of the 8th Ayeyawady – Chao Phraya – Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) Summit held on June 15, 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand |
The MoU was signed by AED Acting Director General Le Manh Hung and KBank President Pipit Aneaknithi.
Under the MoU, the two parties will develop long-term co-operation to support and promote small- and medium- sized enterprise (SME) development in Viet Nam by exchanging by exchanging knowledge and initiatives to develop the SME community; design support programs for innovative startups, business matching, and design scopes for SMEs; implement specific SME support and capacity building programs to benefit SMEs; as well as to collaborate, connect enterprise data to provide support services for businesses.
According to Hung, the signing of the MoU shows the importance of mobilizing international resources and bringing new support models for international SMEs to Viet Nam, such as innovative startup training.
The MOU signing also aims to promote the implementation of the Law on Supporting SMEs, which takes effect on January 1, 2018 and the government’s decrees in guiding the implementation of this law.
Hung said after the signing, AED would cooperate with Kbank to develop a collaboration plan for 2018, focused on supporting activities designed for innovative startups as well as business matching activities for enterprises.
Meanwhile, Aneaknithi said he aims to provide Vietnamese SMEs with comprehensive knowledge and technical assistance programs to substantially enhance their capabilities and improve their operational efficiency. This would include giving SMEs access to finances by using the supply chain concept with the bank’s network as a connector between Vietnamese SMEs and KBank’s customers- Thai conglomerates that have been investing in Viet Nam through foreign direct investment (FDI), mergers and acquisitions and equitixation in the recent past, with investment valued at over US$15.5 billion.
Given its expertise, holding almost 30% of the SME loan market in Thailand, KBank aims to introduce its SME capacity development program, which was previously successfully implemented in Thailand and Myanmar, to help support SMEs in Viet Nam, in line with the government resolution of having 1 million efficient private businesses by 2020.
Prior to the cooperation with AED, KBank has successfully collaborated with the State Bank of Viet Nam, ministries and other government agencies in several initiatives and events which aimed to enhance further cooperation between Viet Nam and Thailand.
KASIKORNBANK, one of the leading SMEs bank and the fourth- largest commercial bank in terms of assets in Thailand, made an unwavering commitment to provide both credit and supporting investments, especially for FDIs from Thailand to Viet Nam, by sharing technologies and expertise for Viet Nam’s SME development in both credit and non-credit sectors./.
