The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bank of Thailand will provide loans worth a combined Bt2.5 billion to Thapisuj Foods Group's franchisees, with a view to creating 50,000 entrepreneur jobs around the country.
Thapisuj Foods Group is the franchisor of Prikkareang pork noodles and grilled-pork meatballs.
SME Bank president Soros Sakornvisava yesterday said he expected the Bt2.5 billion to be released to Thapisuj Foods Group's franchisees within six months.
The Prikkareang franchise is the first such operation for which SME Bank has approved loans. The agreement is for Bt50,000 to be lent to each frachisee.
Soros said SME Bank expected to enter into similar agreements with two other franchise businesses by the end of the year. The bank will focus on the food business as its main priority, as this type of activity is easy to access for people wanting to run their own enterprises, he added.
The loan period is for a maximum of five years, while the interest rate will fall into one of two categories: 5 per cent for franchisees who are members of the Social Security Fund, and the minimum lending rate for others.
Industry Minister Charnchai Chairungrueng said he backed SME Bank's venturing into this kind of lending, as food-business franchises were a good way to reduce the unemployment rate.
Meanwhile, Labour Minister Phaithoon Kaeothong said the unemployment rate had declined to 500,000 from about 1 million people early this year, due to a resumption of recruitment in major industries such as automobiles and electronics.
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