Bt325-bn rehab budget approved by Cabinet

The Cabinet yesterday approved a financial package worth Bt325 billion to help individuals and business operators affected by the worst floods in five decades.
“The Cabinet acknowledged the huge damage to individuals and business operators. This package has been approved to assure all that they will be assisted. This excludes investment in infrastructure which could cost billions of baht,” Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said after the meeting.
He said the budget was divided into two parts, one for the people, and another for affected industries.
The funds will be released through many sources. The Government Housing Bank, the Bank for Agricultural and Agricultural Cooperatives and the Government Savings Bank (GSB) will disburse a total of Bt80 billion in loans to individuals. The Social Security Office will offer Bt10 billion aid to SSO members suffering from the floods.
The government also has a budget to provide up to Bt45,000 to flood-hit families.
He said GSB and commercial banks would together lend Bt40 billion to affected small and medium-sized enterprises, of which Bt20 billion will come from GSB. The interest rates have not been finalised, but the government has said they will be lower than market rates. SMEs can also borrow from commercial banks. The Small Business Credit Corporation will guarantee loans worth a combined Bt120 billion. The interest rate is fixed at 3 per cent for three years.
The Finance Ministry will coordinate with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for loans of Bt50 billion to large-scale manufacturers. The government will seek Bt15 billion to lend to industrial-estate operators to rehabilitate and invest in a flood-prevention system and new infrastructure.
SSO is allocating Bt10 billion for affected enterprises who are also SSO members and need the funds to retain their staff.
Kittiratt said the budget approved yesterday did not include funding to build new infrastructure, which is expected to cost many billions of baht.
Atchaka Sibunruang, secretary-general of the Board of Investment, said the BOI was preparing extra incentives for flood-hit businesses that have to invest in new machines to replace damaged ones.
Manufacturers who want to relocate their operations to other industrial estates will be offered the same incentives provided to factories in Zones 2 and 3. However, the investment value qualifying for the privilege will be limited to those who want to relocate their operations, as the BOI would like them to continue their operations in their current industrial estates. As a result, the industrial estates will be not affected much.
The incentives will be submitted to the BOI’s board of directors, which is expected to meet in the next couple of days.
Kittiratt said the Commerce Ministry yesterday had announced 16 additional price-controlled goods, including flashlights, life vests, water pump, drinking water, toothpaste, sand and sandbags, and small boats.