Thailand: Another THB43.5bn package to spur consumption

• Another THB43.5bn will be allocated to boost domestic consumption and local travel, officials said on 2 Dec 21, as the government tries to revive a flagging, pandemic-hit economy.
• Some THB22.5bn will be offered to 5 million new consumers, or THB3,500 each, under the current co-payment scheme. The 10 million consumers who had already signed up would get a further THB500, finance ministry official Pornchai Theeravet told a briefing.
• The new package would be given in small amounts from Jan 21 to Mar 21, while THB1,500 would be offered to some 14 million low-income earners, he said, as “New Year gifts”.
• The stimulus, agreed by the government’s coronavirus economic task force on 2 Dec 21, will still need cabinet approval.
• It will be financed by the government’s planned THB1tr borrowing aimed at mitigating the impact of the pandemic on an economy the government predicts will contract by 6% in 2020, as tourism is far away from recovering.

External Link : https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2029011/another-b43-5bn-package-to-spur-consumption