Sommai orders action plans from Thai Finance Ministry agencies

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ACTION PLAN
Sommai orders action plans from Finance Ministry agencies
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Finance Minister Sommai Phasee has asked all of the ministry's departments and agencies to formulate action plans and propose them next week, while state enterprises under the ministry were assigned to set monthly investment plans in the hope that budget disbursement could be accelerated.

Sommai early last week had outlined to ministry officials nine policy areas aimed at boosting the economy, such as budget management, investment in infrastructure projects, and reducing losses.

The State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo) was assigned to ask for the private sector's opinions on public-private partnerships (PPPs) for state projects as a means to reduce public debt, Krisada Chinavicharana, director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office, said yesterday.

The State Enterprise Policy Commission or "superboard" will review the business plans of state-run banks and state enterprises and will report to Sommai on a legal draft on the land and building tax the FPO is preparing, he said. The new annual tax rates are proposed at up to 0.5 per cent of appraised value for agricultural land, up to 1 per cent for commercial land and up to 2 per cent for idle land.

Tentatively, Sommai has asked that the proposed tax rate for unused land be raised to as much as 4 per cent.

The FPO is also considering changing its base for tax exemption from area to land value. It is expected that it will take a year or two for the legislation to take full effect, as taxpayers will need time to make preparations for it and sort out their assets.The reform plan for state-run banks has been forwarded to the superboard.

Besides solving the debt problems of financially troubled banks, the superboard will review their mission and clearly define each bank's scope and role. State-run banks may also need a specific unit to audit their performance. At present, the Bank of Thailand examines them.

The finance minister wants state enterprises to play a bigger role in driving the economy and asked them to set monthly investment plans. This will also let the government see how much money will be injected into the economy each month.

Kulit Sombatsiri, director-general of Sepo, said the office had been assigned by the finance minister to review the PPP programme for state projects, which need more investment from the private sector.

Each agency will have to review its projects' demand for investment from the private sector.

Sepo has to hold brainstorming sessions to find obstacles, conditions and suggestions for joint investment from the private sector, and then will propose legal amendments.

Under the Bt2.4-trillion transport-infrastructure project, the share of modules that allow private participation is small and should be raised.

Previously, under the plans for the 2015-22 infrastructure mega-project, the Public Debt Management Office expected 45 per cent of financing to come from state-enterprise borrowings, 20 per cent from the government budget, 20 per cent from PPPs, 10 per cent from state-enterprise cash flow and 5 per cent from infrastructure funds.

The first year of project's implementation is expected to see disbursements of Bt140 billion.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Sommai-orders-action-plans-from-Finance-Ministry-a-30243976.html


-- The Nation 2014-09-24