Cabinet Approves SME Credit Boost Measure to Support Disaster-Affected Debtors

The Cabinet, as proposed by the Ministry of Finance, acknowledged a financial measure to enhance economic potential and assist debtors impacted by severe public disasters. The key initiative is the SMEs Credit Boost project, aimed at supporting potential small and medium-sized enterprise entrepreneurs to access new credit, increase competitive capabilities, and drive Thailand's economic momentum. The measure includes a credit compensation mechanism for financial institutions, with a total compensation fund of 20,000 million baht to encourage comprehensive lending. The initiative is expected to generate approximately 200,000 million baht in new SME loans, representing 5% of the total SME loan system. Simultaneously, the Cabinet recognized a relief measure for flood-affected debtors in areas declared as extremely severe public disasters (Level 4), covering individual and SME debtors who are not yet in default, allowing them to suspend principal payments and receive interest exemptions for up to 12 months.