However, SMEs in Thailand face a number of important challenges, covering
key areas such as inadequacies in technology; research & development and
innovation; management; distributing channels, and access to finance (Chaiyapat and
Watsaya 2005). With regard to constraints on financial access, past studies found that
the reported main obstacles can be divided into two main groups: barriers perceived
by SMEs and barriers restraining financial institutions from lending to SMEs.