ABSTRACT
Considering the rather substantial number of Registered small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) failures and the vast quantity of SMEs in distress in 1997–1999, there is certainly something to be learnt from the implications of the crisis as identified. An SME performance index would also help in targeting priority sectors and sub-sectors, even groups of products, individual products and strategic components and parts. The promotion of SMEs, particularly the missing middle and other types of SMEs upstream or downstream the production of large corporations, seems much more urgent to remedy the structural productivity problems and to meet the regional and global competition challenge, especially in growth sectors. In Thailand and many other emerging economies, supporting industries are generally concentrated in the manufacture of plastic injection moldings, metal parts, and moulds and dies. The declining competitiveness of Thai industry was already observed in 1995–1996, while the US economist Paul Krugman was criticizing the low productivity gains in East Asia.
