BAAC offers high-interest deposits

Deposits of at least Bt100,000 can earn up to 4 per cent per annum tax free, Arun Lertwilai, executive vice president of the BAAC, said yesterday. This scheme is valid for those who open an account between November 1 and 30 for a period of at least six months, he said, adding that the bank was also offering other savings products and hoped to raise about Bt15 billion through them. 

The bank estimates that it needs at least Bt60 billion to provide loans to farmers affected by the severe flooding, and plans to suspend the debt repayment for the first three years. 

BAAC is also planning to earmark about Bt350 billion to Bt360 billion for the rice-pledging scheme. It is expected that farmers will sell about 20 million tonnes of rice to the government, down from the previous estimate of 25 million tonnes. 

So far, farmers have sold 170,000 tonnes of rice to the government and are expected to sell another 300,000 tonnes shortly. The bank only has Bt90 billion for the rice-pledging scheme and expects to run out of funds by next month. 

The government pays Bt15,000 per tonne for ordinary rice and Bt20,000 per tonne for jasmine rice – prices that are about Bt3,000 higher than the current market price. 

“Private firms cannot afford to buy rice directly from farmers,” said an executive who asked not to be named.