Govt. to roll out new measures to stimulate economy during Songkran

BANGKOK, 22 March 2016 (NNT) - The Ministry of Finance is preparing to launch three economic stimulus measures to promote domestic tourism and stimulate spending during the Songkran Festival next month.

Minister of Finance Apisak Tantivorawong on Monday said the stimulus measures included a 15,000-baht tax relief for domestic tour packages during Songkran.

Targeting the middle class with high purchasing power, the measure is aimed at enticing them to spend. Another measure is financial assistance in the form of bonus or other financial incentives for civil servants and low-income people.

These two measures would be imposed before Songkran next month, the minister said.

The last measure is the 70-billion-baht Pracharat housing project for low-income people. All three measures will be submitted to the Cabinet for consideration on Tuesday.

Mr. Apisak expressed his confidence that the three economic stimulus measures would not affect the country’s fiscal position.

Officials from the IMF had remarked that Thailand was able to use fiscal policy to stimulate the targeted growth of 3% and the Thai economy was able to expand at 4%-5% since its public debt was still low at 44% of the GDP, said the minister.

The minister stressed that the Thai economy was not in crisis and only the purchasing power of grassroots people was affected by decreasing produce prices. Exports in February started to recover after a 13-consecutive month drop, he added.


-- NNT 2016-03-22

"The minister stressed that the Thai economy was not in crisis and only the purchasing power of grassroots people was affected by decreasing produce prices. "

Well, that's OK then....

The economy is not tanking, honest!

The money will not stimulate the economy, it will simply be used to pay debts.

All sounds rather desperate

"15,000-baht tax relief for domestic tour packages during Songkran."

Does anyone really need a tour guide to get drunk find out where the water is?

I can't see how building a housing project is going to promote domestic tourism and stimulate spending, am I missing something here.

BONUS !!!!!

I can't see how building a housing project is going to promote domestic tourism and stimulate spending, am I missing something here.

Guess you have never heard the term. " Party at my house " Multiplied by 1000's of houses. That's a lot of whiskey.

Exports in February started to recover after a 13-consecutive month drop

But no actual results on exports for February 2016.

Through January 2016 exports have seen a 13-month drop where exports contracted 8.73% from a year earlier in December, accelerating from a 7.24% year-over-year drop in the preceding month.

The value of Thai exports in January 2016 decreased 8.91% compared to the same period lasy year. It was the lowest value since November 2011.

According to president of Thai National Shippers Council Nopporn Thepsittha in the first week of March 2016, export shipments for the first quarter of this year are expected to contract by 5 percent due to global economic downturn instead of 2 percent growth as earlier projected.

It doesn't sound like any recovery in export growth is close at hand.

So this 70 billion baht (US$2 billion) Pracharat housing project for low-income people consists of the building of houses "costing no more than Bt600,000" - so, by my reckoning, they should get at least 100,000 homes for this money, leaving 10 billion baht for project costs...

Interestingly, state-owned banks (Krungthai Bank, Government Savings Bank and the Government Housing Bank) will provide the low-income earners the mortgages...

The good Minister said the economy wasn't in crisis , no , but it ain't healthy either, what Thailand needs to stimulate growth is good managers at the top, not retired Generals, Thailand is in sovereign risk territory at the moment., not a good look in anybody's language ..................................................

The best thing that this bunch of incompetent old army generals could do to stimulate the economy? QUIT!

the purchasing power of grassroots people was affected by decreasing produce prices.

How purchasing power can be negatively affected by decreasing prices is beyond me.

the purchasing power of grassroots people was affected by decreasing produce prices.

How purchasing power can be negatively affected by decreasing prices is beyond me.

The purchasing power of the people producing the produce was negatively affected by decreasing produce prices.