Bangkok--3 May--EXIM Thailand
EXIM Thailand announces its net profit of 398 million baht in the first quarter of 2013, resulting from higher interest income following the expansion of project finance for national development. The Bank’s short-term working capital loans outstanding stood at 14,397 million baht, mainly comprising loans to SME exporters in line with the government policy to promote SMEs. In 2013, EXIM Thailand will further emphasize collaboration with public and private sectors to enhance the competitiveness of Thailand’s SMEs and OTOP in the global market through provision of loans, export credit insurance and training programs.
Mr. Kanit Sukonthaman, President of Export-Import Bank of Thailand (EXIM Thailand), revealed that, in the first quarter of 2013, EXIM Thailand posted a net profit of 398 million baht, increasing by 150.45% compared to the first quarter of 2013’s net profit of 159 million baht. This resulted from an increase in interest income following the growth of long-term loans extended to investment projects contributing to national development. At the end of March 2013, EXIM Thailand’s total loans outstanding expanded by 1,562 million baht or 2.43% to 65,933 million baht compared to the corresponding period of last year. At the end of March 2013, the Bank’s non-performing loans (NPLs) stood at 3,598 million baht, equivalent to 5.46% of total loans.
In the first quarter of 2013, EXIM Thailand approved working capital loans for export-import promotion in the amount of 2,830 million baht. Of this total, 1,749 million baht was extended to SME exporters. Business turnover of export-import financing facilities accounted for 31,329 million baht. Its short-term working capital loan outstanding was 14,397 million baht, decreasing by 1,269 million baht from the corresponding period in 2012. Such decline resulted from a shift in portfolio emphasis to SME exporters which maintain a smaller size of credit line per customer relative to large-scaled exporters, in the line with the government policy.
On the project finance front, in the first quarter of 2013, EXIM Thailand’s total loan approval accounted for 3,478 million baht to finance domestic investment projects ranging from energy and alternative energy, logistics, infrastructure and utilities construction, to productivity enhancement. Of this total, the Bank provided 544 million baht in merchant marine finance under the Ministry of Finance’s Financial Assistance for Maritime Business Promotion Scheme which aims to foster long-term development of national shipping fleet. The Bank also financed outbound foreign direct investment projects, mostly infrastructure development projects in the CLMV countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam). At the end of March 2013, the Bank’s medium- to long-term loans outstanding totaled 51,536 million baht, increasing by 2,831 million baht from the corresponding period of last year.
Apart from loans, during January-March 2013 EXIM Thailand approved 701 million baht in export credit insurance to help protect exporters from non-payment risks by foreign buyers facing current global economic volatilities while enhancing their confidence in expanding export transactions in both existing and new markets. In the first quarter of 2013, the Bank’s export credit insurance turnover reached 25,052 million baht, with insurance outstanding totaling 46,915 million baht.
According to Mr. Kanit, in 2013 EXIM Thailand will step up its effort to enhance SMEs’ competitiveness in the global trade and investment arena. The Bank will integrate the strengths of related public and private sectors to provide SMEs with access to funding, both in the form of loan and export credit insurance facilities. The Bank will also extend non-financial assistance including SME training programs to promote SME exporters’ preparedness for entry into ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), to take full effect in 2015. In this regard, EXIM Thailand, as a Specialized Financial Institution (SFI), joins forces with five ministries and five other SFIs; comprising Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry for Agriculture and Cooperatives, and Ministry of Interior, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand, Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation, Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives, Government Savings Bank, and Islamic Bank of Thailand; to sharpen SMEs and OTOP’s competitive edge in the global market. The first project under such collaboration was the “SMEs Roadmap : Moving Forward to AEC” seminar held on March 18-19, 2013 at Four Seasons Hotel, Bangkok, participated by 527 SMEs and OTOP operators.