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Stimulus plan worth Bt200 bn to be put to economic cabinet

Stimulus plan worth Bt200 bn to be put to economic cabinet

Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana plans to inject Bt200 billion into the economy in the second half of this year through agricultural subsidies and income guarantee schemes, welfare card benefits, tourism promotion and small business loans.

 

 


Uttama and other economic ministers will propose their policies today to the economic cabinet, aiming to cushion Thailand’s economy amidst the global economic slowdown.
The Finance Ministry will submit its economic stimulus proposal to the economic cabinet in order to prepare Thailand’s economy for the impacts of global economic volatility such as the slowdown in global  growth and its impact on Thailand’s exports, Uttama said.
The stimulus package, he stated, will have three key pillars and will be aimed at boosting domestic spending throughout the country.
“The government expects these measures will inject a total of Bt200 billion into the economy in the second half of this year,” Uttama said.
The first pillar includes measures to support the agricultural sector affected by this year’s drought.
The Finance Ministry plans to aid farmers in paying back loans by providing new loans and subsidies. This will be done by compensating 4 million rice growers by Bt500 to Bt800 per rai not exceeding 15 rai. The total capital required for this scheme will be Bt57 billion.
Those affected by drought will also be able to take out a Bt500,000 emergency loan with the government per person without any interest in the first year of the loan. The total capital available for this scheme stands at Bt55 billion.
Furthermore, the government will implement an income guarantee scheme, targeting 6.23 households throughout the country. The income guarantee for rice farmers will be Bt10,000 per ton. For jasmine rice 105, the guaranteed price will be Bt15,000 per ton with a total budget of Bt53 billion. Cassava will be guaranteed at Bt60 per kilogramme with a total budget of Bt35.74 billion. Palm oil will be guaranteed at Bt4 per kilogramme with a total budget of Bt10 billion.
The second pillar includes measures to increase welfare for low-income earners through the government welfare card scheme.
Those with incomes lower than Bt100,000 per annum will receive Bt200 per person for cost of living, Bt1,500 per person for transportation costs, and Bt45 price reduction on LPG per person for three months. Those on career training will receive Bt100 per person.
For those with incomes lower than Bt30,000 per annum, Bt300 will be given out to cover the cost of living, Bt1,500 for transportation costs, Bt45 price reduction on LPG for three months, and Bt100 for career training.
The third measure will target tourism and small businesses.
Uttama aims to stimulate tourism in secondary cities and promote hospitality services and shopping in local areas. The government will hand out Bt1,500 for those planning to travel in Thailand and aims to give the special subsidy to 10 million people.
For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the government has prepared special measures to increase the accessibility of capital to allow these enterprises to improve their level of liquidity as well as to promote investments to upgrade their machinery.

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