Govt reconsiders budget to ease impact of Covid-19 fallout

[webfact]

Govt reconsiders budget to ease impact of Covid-19 fallout

By The Nation

 

Uttama Savanayana

 

In a move to tackle the economic fallout of the Covid-19 outbreak, the government’s Monetary and Fiscal Committee has come up with a plan to maintain public debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio, boost the budget ceiling and adjust debt settlements.

 

Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana said after a meeting with the committee on Thursday (April 16) that in a move to ensure the country is financially strong to handle the crisis, the public debt to GDP ratio has to be maintained at 60 per cent, despite the issuing of a Royal Decree authorising the Finance Ministry to get a Bt1 trillion credit limit.

 

The credit limit, which has not yet been implemented, will allow the evaluation of figures periodically once the amount has been borrowed.

 

“Loans will be gradually implemented by the Public Debt Management Office. These loans will be taken from financial institutions both within and outside the country. They can also be raised from the sale of bonds to the public,” Uttama added.

 

Dechapiwat na Songkhla, director of Thailand’s Budget Bureau, said the meeting considered adjusting the national budget in two parts:

 

1. The ratio of the central budget to the annual budget should be adjusted from 3.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent for the fiscal year of 2020-2021 in line with the 2020 Budget Expenses Act, which is currently being prepared. Under this, funds from different ministries will be transferred to boost the central budget by Bt80 billion to Bt100 billion. With this transfer, the central budget will be increased by approximately 6.7 per cent.

 

2. The portion for the repayment of loans, originally set at 2.5 per cent of the total budget, should be adjusted to 1.5 per cent. It is expected that this reduction will boost the 2020 budget by another Bt30 billion.

 

“The prime minister has signed a draft notification for the State Finance and Finance Policy Committee to adjust the budget allocations and is waiting for it to be announced in the Royal Gazette before enforcement,” Dechapiwat said.

 

The budget transfer act will be considered at the Cabinet meeting on April 21 and should be signed by May 31. As for budget adjustments for the 2021 fiscal year, the Budget Bureau is scheduled to deliver details of changes by April 22. Under this budget, funds for seminars and overseas visits will be cut by 25 per cent on the assumption that the Covid-19 outbreak will continue until the end of this year.

 

“According to the draft on fiscal 2021, Bt350 billion will be allocated to the Public Health Ministry. If there is a chance of reallocating Bt31 billion from the central budget, then an additional Bt10 billion will be given to the Public Health Ministry to spend on boosting the morale of doctors as well as procuring additional equipment,” Dechapiwat said.

 

Source: http://www.nationthailand.com/business/30386153

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-04-17

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[hotchilli]

Cut the defense budget in half and channel it to where it's most needed, should cover the rest of the year.

[petermik]

But where,s the 200+ billion US dollars of foreign reserves when you need it...........

[petermik]

7 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Cut the defense budget in half and channel it to where it's most needed, should cover the rest of the year.

ooh cannot do that....safety and security is paramount here 

[Assurancetourix]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana said after a meeting with the committee on Thursday (April 16) that in a move to ensure the country is financially strong to handle the crisis, the public debt to GDP ratio has to be maintained at 60 per cent, despite the issuing of a Royal Decree authorising the Finance Ministry to get a Bt1 trillion credit limit.

 

It is simply impossible.
Either you keep your ration at 60% and you put 35 million Thai people on the street,
either you do like western economies, you operate the printer fully and you no longer take care of the ratio.
All the countries of Europe, including the virtuous Germany are in the process of operating the money printing press and will end up with dizzying deficits and ratios exceeding most of the time 100% for the wisest and reaching 200% for some: Italy and Spain for example;
These countries will still be very far from the first in the class (if I dare say !): Japan, which has an astounding ratio of 240% and which continues to go into debt in all zenitude ...

 

https://www.businessleader.co.uk/japans-national-debt-to-gdp-ratio-five-times-higher-than-chinas/82943/

[bluesofa]

34 minutes ago, petermik said:

40 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Cut the defense budget in half and channel it to where it's most needed, should cover the rest of the year.

ooh cannot do that....safety and security is paramount here 

Ah yes, 'national security': The phrase that's used to protect those in power from the people they repress.

The defence budget must be one of the few worldwide that in reality is used to protect the military from the population.

 

[brain150]

Get rid of the Government all together would save a bunch of money !

 

Nobody is going broke because of a virus !

People go broke because Government decided that to save the village

it needs to be burnt down !!!

 

Government decision is the catastrophe not some fake Pandemic declared by criminals at the WHO !!!

This is a take over by the WHO - nothing less !

[sammieuk1]

2 hours ago, petermik said:

But where,s the 200+ billion US dollars of foreign reserves when you need it...........

In numerous Swiss accounts and a handy place for watch collectors coincidently ????

[bluesofa]

14 minutes ago, brain150 said:

Get rid of the Government all together would save a bunch of money !

 

Nobody is going broke because of a virus !

People go broke because Government decided that to save the village

it needs to be burnt down !!!

 

Government decision is the catastrophe not some fake Pandemic declared by criminals at the WHO !!!

This is a take over by the WHO - nothing less !

Got a feeling '21 Is going to be a good year, Especially if you and me See it in together.

 

[RichardColeman]

Seems a lot of cufuffle for less than 50 deaths of 70 million

[rbkk]

2 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

In numerous Swiss accounts and a handy place for watch collectors coincidently ????

Land sales and Singapore bank a/c's are not to be mentioned....

[Saint Nick]

2 hours ago, brain150 said:

Get rid of the Government all together would save a bunch of money !

 

Nobody is going broke because of a virus !

People go broke because Government decided that to save the village

it needs to be burnt down !!!

 

Government decision is the catastrophe not some fake Pandemic declared by criminals at the WHO !!!

This is a take over by the WHO - nothing less !

I am really interested: where did you get your username from?

Edited April 17, 2020 by Saint Nick

[rbkk]

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

Seems a lot of cufuffle for less than 50 deaths of 70 million

The numbers Thailand are seeing are not the same as the projections, thank god. What I  am nervous about is history. Spanish Flu in 1918 started in January 1918, but it was the second wave, of three, that killed the most people. That second wave began in August 1918. South East Asian numbers do seem to be an anomaly. If the virus mutates into a second wave, will S.E.A. fare so luckily?

[TommyBlue]

Yet another sign that the unmentionable thing is going to happen. The Thai economy is being held up by Govt spending. They are running out of money as trade and tourism is way way down.  The longer they try to hide the real story the hard it will be hit. OK by me - baht way too high.