New company registrations expected to hit 4-year high
THE NUMBER of new company registrations in Thailand this year is expected to rise to the highest level in four years, following more investment by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as stepped-up registration by gold shops, the Business Development Department said yesterday.
Last month, 6,279 new companies were registered in the Kingdom, a year-on-year increase of 9 per cent.
However, the combined initial investment value of these new businesses was down 42 per cent, at Bt16.49 billion, as most of the registrations were by SMEs, whose initial capital was considerably lower than the average invested by new enterprises in January last year.
Banjongjitt Angsusingh, director-general of the department, said more investors were starting up businesses this year, thanks to stronger economic growth, the government’s economic-stimulus measures and investment-promotion measures – especially in regard to infrastructure development and exemption from income tax – as well as a stronger tourism sector.
“With the government’s start-up and SME promotion and support plans, many SMEs have dared to start new businesses. This is a good sign for the economy as SMEs account for more than 98 per cent of all enterprises in the country, contribute significantly to the economy and create more employment opportunities for Thais,” she said.
Moreover, the Finance Ministry’s measure to encourage gold-shop registration by easing regulations for such businesses has also promoted more business registration, she added.
Last month, 696 gold shops registered with the department as new firms, lifting the number of registered gold stores to 5,146 – some 69 per cent of the roughly 7,500 gold stores around the country.
The biggest number of businesses registering during the month was in general construction, followed by property development, retail outlets, consultants and restaurants.
In light of the figures for January, Banjongjitt said her agency was now expecting the number of newly registered companies to surge beyond 66,000 this year, due to a positive outlook for stronger economic growth, more investment and expanded tourism, and effective business management for facilitating expansion.
Last year, 64,288 new companies were registered, some 7 per cent higher than the 60,147 registrations in 2015.
Their combined initial investment value was Bt236.77 billion, around 10 per cent lower than the previous year’s level.
The department also reported yesterday that 1,157 companies had shut down their operations last month – 21 per cent fewer than in the same period last year.
A total of 649,523 companies are actively operating in the country, of which 1,153 are public businesses.
