ABSTRACT
During the 1970s or even earlier, all Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have launched programs for financial assistance to small- and medium-scale industries (SMI). Design and quantitative relevance of such programs vary considerably among ASEAN countries; in subsequent subsections, major elements of financial assistance to SMIs in each country are presented separately. The Indonesian experience suggests that an upgrading of the banks' lending procedures and training of loan officers may be a more effective measure for improving SMIs access to formal credit than concessional terms. In considering financial assistance to SMIs in the Philippines, it should be noted that in 1978 financial institutions disbursed a total of ₱8,341 million in long-term funds to the industrial sector. Financial assistance to small industrial enterprises is even less important in Thailand than in the Philippines. When evaluating financial assistance to SMIs, the case of Malaysia is distinct from Indonesia or the Philippines in several respects.
