Thailand transferred about 30 billion baht (US$891 million) to its senior citizens yesterday, part of a government program to tackle the high cost of living and stimulate the nation’s sluggish economy.
More than 3 million senior citizens were given 10,000 baht each, and the dole out would boost the country’s US$500 billion economy, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said.
The government would continue the cash stimulus program, she said without elaborating.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The handout was a flagship election promise of the ruling Pheu Thai party led by Paetongtarn, but its rollout was delayed due to legal risks and a lack of readiness for a digital application.
In the first phase, the government extended the cash gift to 14.45 million welfare cardholders and disabled people.
Thailand’s economic growth has lagged its regional peers in the past decade, and Paetongtarn’s administration has unveiled a raft of measures including debt moratoriums, higher state spending and cash stimulus to lift growth this year to about 3 percent.
Thai Minister of Finance Pichai Chunhavajira yesterday said that he is confident growth would exceed 3 percent this year because of the stimulus measures and inflow of foreign investments in the second half of the year.
The latest cash handout might add 0.1 percent to GDP, Thai Deputy Minister of Finance Paopoom Rojanasakul said.
A digital payment system for the transfer of money to the remaining eligible applicants for the dole out would be ready within the second quarter of this year, another Deputy Minister of Finance Julapun Amornvivat said.
More than 30 million people had registered for the handout last year.
The government would consider whether to set aside more money for the program if the 160 billion baht allotted in this year’s budget is inadequate, Julapun said.
“The government will ensure that the ongoing economic growth momentum is sustained during the high and low seasons,” he said.
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