The cash handout was a flagship campaign promise of the Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai party and the centrepiece of Srettha’s push to help the economy grow annually at 5 per cent. - Photo: Bloomberg
BANGKOK: Thailand’s key economic stimulus – an almost US$14 billion cash giveaway to its citizens – is poised to be abandoned by the next government under the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, according to local media reports.
Thaksin told the ruling Pheu Thai party and his daughter, Paetongtan Shinawatra, who’s set to become the nation’s next prime minister, to drop the plan, the Nation reported, citing a party official it didn’t identify.
Parliament will vote on Paetongtarn’s nomination as premier on Aug 16, two days after a court disqualified previous leader Srettha Thavisin.
The cash handout was a flagship campaign promise of the Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai party and the centrepiece of Srettha’s push to help the economy grow annually at 5 per cent like many South-East Asian neighbours.
Yet disagreements including with the central bank and some lawmakers over how the massive stimulus will be funded – as well as the impact on inflation – have delayed its implementation.
Srettha’s dismissal and Thaksin’s disapproval puts the plan in serious doubt, even as Parliament was close to approving additional budget in 2024 to fund the initial rollout.
This comes as the government is set to report a still-lacklustre gross domestic product growth in the second quarter despite the influx of tourists.
Growth in South-east Asia’s second-largest economy has averaged below 2 per cent in the past decade, hobbled by massive household debt and a deteriorating manufacturing sector handicapped by cheap imports mostly from China.
The economy likely grew 2.1 per cent in the second quarter from a year ago, according to a median estimate of economists ahead of the announcement on Aug 19.
How Thai citizens will react to the ditching of the handout remains to be seen.
Almost 30 million have already registered to receive the cash gift of 10,000 baht (S$376) for every Thai 16 years old and up, ahead of the planned start of implementation in November.
The next administration will probably roll out more direct stimulus measures to replace the broad handout, according to reports. - Bloomberg
