More Covid relief in the works
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Past economic aid proved effective
published : 3 May 2021 at 07:44
5 A shop owner waits for shoppers at the once-bustling Chatuchak weekend market on Sunday. (Photo by Apichit Jinakul)
The government is considering new relief packages for both individuals and businesses as a part of a new economic stimulus package, against the backdrop of Thailand s third wave of Covid-19 outbreak.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed all economic agencies concerned, including the Finance Ministry and the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), to speed up assessing the impact of the Covid-19 restrictions on all sectors, which is required before details of these relief packages can be mapped out, said Traisuree Taisaranakul, deputy government spokeswoman, on Sunday.
Govt has enough cash to help Covid sufferers
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published : 29 Apr 2021 at 04:00
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Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith yesterday gave his assurances that the government has enough money to continue funding Covid-relief programmes and kickstart the economy.
Mr Arkhom said the 400 billion baht left of the one trillion-baht-loan secured via the state of emergency was enough to care for people facing hardship.
He added that the government was also still considering a third extension of the popular Kon La Krueng (Half-Half) co-payment scheme.
Kon La Krueng subsidises people s spending on consumer purchases, and ruled out the need to issue another executive decree to borrow more money.
Household debt situation worsening
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Average household debt for Thai workers recorded a historic surge of almost 30% to around 205,000 baht in 2021 when compared with 2019, driven by the pandemic, says the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).
The survey by the UTCC s Center for Economic and Business Forecasting gauged 1,256 respondents across the country from April 18-22. Respondents had less than 15,000 baht in monthly income. The survey is conducted annually, except in 2020 when the lockdown prevented the survey from being carried out.
In 2019, the average household debt was 158,855 baht, up 15.1% year-on-year.
Thanavath Phonvichai, president of the UTCC, said 98.1% of the respondents had household debt, up from 95% in 2019. They said they had to seek loans for daily spending and debt repayment when falling short of cash.
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