Khon La Khrueng scheme a success: FPO chief

Critics have said the the scheme cannot really stimulate the economy because low-income earners do not have enough money to top up the "Bao Tang" app, making this policy far less effective than originally envisaged.

FPO chief Pornchai Thiravej said the "Khon La Khrueng project has been in operation since the end of 2020 with the aim of restoring and stimulating the economy through the government subsidising people's expenses.

He clarified that the project was not a cash giveaway. It’s aim is to encourage people to pass on their purchasing power to small entrepreneurs, especially hawker groups, to have an income from selling products and services continuously in a situation where the economy is affected by the Covid-19 pandemic

There were more than 1.3 million stores and more than 26 million people had participated in using their rights under the project. So, it can be said that the Khon La Khrueng project achieved its objectives with approximately 326 billion baht in circulation driving the economy, trade, manufacturing and employment activities throughout the supply chain until now, he said.

The fourth phase of the project, which started on February 1 and ends on April 30, is expected to increase the amount of money that goes into circulation to stimulate the economy by about 69.6 billion baht.

He said that on the first day of Phase 4, a total of 1.155 billion baht was injected into the economy, of which 585 million baht was the people's money and 570 million baht was subsidy by the government.