The country expects the recipients of its two-part cash handout at no more than 40 million, which will make it easier for the government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to finance and implement the aid scheme.
The government will kick off the first phase by giving 10,000 baht (RM1,292) to each of the 14.5 million Thais in most need of assistance from Sept 25 to Oct 1, Permanent Secretary for Finance Lavaron Sangsnit told reporters in Bangkok on Monday.
The second phase, slated to be implemented early next year, is expected to cover 36 million Thais who have applied for the programme by the deadline on Sunday.
While the applicants who are already set to receive the first round of payment will be excluded in the second phase, about three million people who are eligible but do not have smartphones will be added, he said.
Due to the lower number of recipients, the entire programme will cost no more than 400 billion baht (RM51.7bil), less than the estimated 450 billion baht (RM58.2bil) planned by the previous administration.
“The overall number won’t exceed 40 million.
“This will save our budget by more than 100 billion baht and make it easier for the government to manage financing for the project,” Lavaron said, citing an initial coverage estimate of 45 million people.
Budgets approved by the parliament for this fiscal year as well as next will cover the funding of the programme, he said.
The cash gift programme, along with government spending and additional kick from the state-run Vayupak Fund to boost the stock market will help energise South-East Asia’s second-largest economy in the fourth quarter, according to Lavaron. Thailand’s sub-2% annual gross domestic product growth in the past decade has lagged most neighbours expanding at 5% or faster.
Paetongtarn’s Cabinet approved the plans for the cash stimulus yesterday.
The original plan under her predecessor was to give away cash to as many as 50 million Thai adults.She also met with Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira and his deputies earlier on Monday to discuss ways to boost the economy. — Bloomberg
