GUANGZHOU, Oct 23 (TNA) – The government introduced the second-phase cash giveaway scheme to stimulate the Thai economy, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said.
The second phase of the cash giveaway scheme would continue to give 1,000 baht to registered participants to encourage people to spend for the sake of economic stimulation, he said.
The first phase of the scheme was effective because people spent more in provinces. The scheme also attracted the participation of some 100,000 small and large shops. The government would quickly develop its big data system to gather and analyze data in order to well plan more welfare programs, Mr Somkid said.
He also commented that the 1.4% yearly decline in Thai exports in September was actually positive for Thailand amid the global economic slowdown. He said that marketing campaigns remained promising for many categories of Thai exports such as farm products and products demanded by particular countries.
Boonsithi Chokwatana, chairman of Saha Group – a leading Thai distributor of consumer goods, said the Thai economy was not as bad as many parties were concerned because its fundamentals remained strong.
As people were losing their purchasing power, measures to strengthen the purchasing power of farmers, small shops and community enterprises were necessary and the cash giveaway scheme was among them, he said.
He urged the Bank of Thailand to manage the value of Thai baht well to help support the Thai economy.
The Bank of Thailand based its policy rate on the rate of the Federal Reserve and hedge funds thus could predict Thailand’s monetary policies, resulting in the presently strong baht which eventually affected small-scaled farmers in Thailand, Mr Boonsithi said. (TNA)
