Briefs

The Cabinet yesterday gave the green light to measures by the Finance Ministry to improve small farmers’ quality of living as a way to prop up the economy.
Luck Wajananawat, president of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, said the bank would transfer Bt3,000 to each of about 1.51 million eligible farmers with incomes of less than Bt30,000 per year, and Bt1,500 each to Bt1.34 million farmers with annual incomes of more than Bt30,000 but no more than Bt100,000. The total budget is about Bt6.54 billion.
The BAAC will also launch three debt-relief projects to help farmers resume production and to support younger farmers, relieving about 2.9 million farmers whose principal is no more than Bt300,000 each of Bt334.52 billion in total debts.

SET EXPECTS ‘ACTIVE’ LISTED REITS
The Stock Exchange of Thailand expects to have the first “active” real estate investment trust listed on the bourse by the end of this year.
Unlike “passive” REITs, which are mostly issued by owners of the properties, active REIT managers can take out loans and acquire properties.
Active REITs offer growth opportunities to investors, besides dividend yields. Their risk and return profiles are closer to equities.
Santi Kiranand, senior executive vice president of the SET, said yesterday that the bourse was discussing with the Securities and Exchange Commission easing the requirement for REITs to hold at least 99 per cent of each property.
REITs are getting popular in Thailand and other markets where interest rates are low, as investors search for lower-risk asset classes that can offer a higher return, he said.