Thailand and Japan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a bid to encourage Japanese SMEs to do business in Thailand.
The Thai government will continue to promote Thai SMEs in Japan, as well as persuade Japanese SMEs to set up shop in Thailand, helping fulfil the two countries' aims, said Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana.
He said the MoU will create a network to support both Thai and Japanese SMEs in expanding business and exchanging technologies and innovation that will help improve products and services.
"Thailand will further support Thai SMEs, while Japan will promote its SMEs via its Small and Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, Japan (SMRJ)," Mr Uttama said.
The SMRJ is a Japanese governmental organisation that helps enhance the efficiency of Japanese SMEs.
Hiroshi Takada, chairman and chief executive of the SMRJ, said the Japanese government has a clear policy to support and encourage Japanese SMEs to expand into Thailand and other Asean countries.
In addition, the SMRJ has a platform that links Japanese SMEs together to support Thai SMEs seeking partners.
Mr Takada said the SMRJ has "J-GoodTech", an online business-matching platform, which consists of more than 7,000 Japanese companies.
"Japan will help provide support for business matching," he said. "We expect the new network to help increase new investment value substantially in Thailand with the support of the SMRJ."
Toshihiko Watanabe, executive director of SMRJ, said the group is focusing on Asia and especially Asean countries, which remain a major production base for Japanese manufacturers.
The SMRJ has offices in Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Taiwan and Indonesia.
"The SMRJ is expected to help increase the number of Japanese SMEs to 10,000 companies in 2017 across the world," Mr Watanabe said.
In Thailand, the number of Japanese SMEs is expected to rise to 2,000 companies this year, up from about 1,000 in the previous year, he said.