More stimulus for 2015 being prepared, says finance minister

“I’m putting together a second stimulus package to pull the economy round in 2015 and enable it to expand by more than this year, but I can’t say what it will comprise [at this stage],” he said.
The stimulus package will, however, be announced no later than December, the minister added.
Sommai’s statement came at roughly the same time as the ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office is due to issue its final review of 2014 economic growth, which is reported to be this Thursday.
The latest figure is likely to be lower than its previous prediction made in July, when it forecast that gross domestic product would expand by between 1.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent, as exports – a major engine of the economy – have remained sluggish.
The office’s original forecast for this year’s GDP growth was 4 per cent, but this was cut to 2.6 per cent in March, and again to a median level of 2 per cent in |July.
Nevertheless, Sommai said GDP was still expected to expand by more than 1.5 per cent this year, even though there are predictions that exports will post negative growth.
This is because some important economic indicators are now pointing in a better direction, he said.
He singled out the tourism sector and domestic consumption and cited higher collection of value-added tax revenues as evidence of improved performance.
“The economic outlook is getting better, partly because of the first stimulus package that the government issued. It is like a medicine that is beginning to take effect. We are preparing to appraise how the measures have affected the economy,” he said.

Debt burden
Meanwhile, Pitipong Pueng-boon Na Ayudhaya, permanent secretary for agriculture and agricultural cooperatives, said his ministry was currently checking on the debt burden of farmers nationwide in order to prepare a database for the government, with a view to a debt haircut to aid farmers.
The non-performing loans (NPLs) of farmers total Bt100.7 billion, out of total outstanding debts of Bt1.2 trillion.
“As to our target, it would be satisfactory if we could help farmers solve their NPLs in the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives and commercial banks, which total about Bt43.1 billion,” said the official.
“But initially, the NPLs that we can help solve right away are those totalling Bt3.78 billion under funds for which the ministry is responsible,” he added.