Thai PM seeks extra $4.5b for stimulus as lawmakers criticise handout plan
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The 500 billion baht scheme is aimed at jump-starting South-east Asia's second-largest economy.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BANGKOK – Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on July 17 tabled an additional 122 billion baht (S$4.5 billion) budget for the 2024 fiscal year for his signature stimulus programme
“The government needs the budget to stimulate the economy by boosting money circulation in various areas,” he told Parliament.
The 500 billion baht scheme is aimed at jump-starting South-east Asia's second-largest economy, which grew 1.9 per cent in 2023 and has trailed regional peers.
Mr Srettha said the economy is expected to grow 2.5 per cent in 2024 and extra budget spending will adhere to fiscal discipline.
The scheme, a giveaway of 10,000 baht each to 50 million Thais to be spent locally within six months, has been delayed to the fourth quarter of 2024 due to issues finding funding sources.
“There is a need to stimulate the economy,” Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said at the debate.
“If nothing is done, there will definitely be a crisis.”
The government on July 15 said it has the approval of an intra-agency committee to use 2024 and 2025 budgets for the so-called “digital wallet” programme.
The panel includes members of the central bank, which has voiced concern about the programme and recommended that it be more narrow and focused on the poor.
The stimulus plan was the ruling Pheu Thai Party's flagship policy in the 2023 election and has been criticised by economists and two former central bank governors for being fiscally risky, which the government rejects.
Opposition lawmaker Sirikanya Tansakul questioned whether the handout programme is necessary, and said the funds would be better kept for emergencies.
“We increase the fiscal risks for the country. Right now, we don’t have room to deal with emergency situations,” she said in the debate.
The budget debate also comes as Mr Srettha faces a Constitutional Court case that could potentially lead to his dismissal over one of his Cabinet appointments
