Thailand Raises National Budget For 2007

[george]

Thailand raises national budget for 2007

BANGKOK: -- The Thai government has increased the state budget for 2007 to Bt1.56 trillion (about US$46.285 billion) upon finding that debt burdens incurred from various projects launched by the previous government totalled over Bt100 billion (about US$2.737 billion) .

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula said the cabinet on Tuesday revised the budget for 2007 by raising expenditure to Bt1.5662 trillion (about US$42.982 billion) from Bt1.52 trillion (about US$41.612 billion) and fixing revenue at Bt1.42 trillion (about US$38.854 billion).

He said the spending budget had been revised upward because the government found debt burdens from the various projects initiated by the previous government had risen to Bt101.76 billion (about US$2.8 billion).

These projects include a paddy mortgage programme of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives together with the Warehouse Organisation, the village fund, assistance measures for farmers, and universal healthcare scheme.

He said the government had set aside Bt85 billion (about US$2.325 billion) to repay debt burdens for 2007, particularly on paddy mortgages totalling Bt23 billion (about US$629.625 million) .

The deputy premier said the government would spend up to Bt595 billion (US$16.33 billion) or 37.9 per cent of the total budget for 2007 developing human resources of ministries and overseeing social affairs and Bt343 billion (about US$9.387 billion) or 22 per cent supervising security affairs and promoting good governance.

--TNA 2006-11-15

[isaanbrit]

And in other news...

I have increased my personal budget for 2007 by 50,000 baht in order to repay the debts run up by my previous government (whose name is yui) - sometimes u just wish it hadn't gone that way :-)

[Jai Dee]

Populist schemes listed as debts

Govt fears huge state liabilities could blow out

The previous administration's off-budget populist schemes such as one-million cows, village fund, farm product price support and SML will be listed as public debts in order to manage the risks of them spinning into huge financial losses for the government.

Pongpanu Svetarundra, director-general of the Public Debt Management Office, said yesterday his office had completed a study, as assigned by the interim government, to oversee all government projects including those not subject to normal budget processes.

"We just started to look into these SPV [special purpose vehicle] projects because the new government wants to show them on the balance sheet. Our office did not incorporate them under the previous government, as they did not rely on public financing. However, if they were unable to repay debts and would then be related to the budget, we would need to take care of them," he said.

The Special Purpose Vehicles could not take responsibility for their debts on their own, he said, which left open the possibility taxpayers' money might be needed to rescue them.

SPVs are limited-purpose companies set up to fund projects and designed to be self-supporting financially with their own source of revenue.

"We oversee the public debt," Pongpanu said. "So, we help give guidelines on what should be included in the public debt. If they create anything that would be counted as public debt in the future, we will have to take responsibility for that."

The interim government has been determined to clear debts incurred from the previous regime's populist policies. In fiscal 2007 alone, Bt85.5 billion of bad debts will be settled, while the remaining unpaid bills - "not a large number" - will be carried over to later fiscal years.

Of the Bt85.5 billion, the biggest chunk, Bt23.08 billion, is from the government's liability for principal and interest on loans taken out by the Farmers Rehabilitation and Development Fund for the rice-pledging programme by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).

The debt from Village Funds is Bt13.16 billion, while the deficit from the universal health scheme was Bt7.76 billion.

The Bt85.5 billion of unpaid debts will be booked as part of government's expenses in the current fiscal budget, which is Bt177.58 billion in total. To make room, other current expenses will be cut down and the deficit for the 2007 fiscal year increased from Bt100 billion to Bt146 billion.

Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula said the Thaksin Shinawatra government committed fiscal mismanagement by not settling its debts on an annual basis.

The interim government would eliminate all outstanding liabilities in order to preserve fiscal discipline, he said. If damages occurred and the government declined to compensate agencies, they would suffer from a lack of budget and wouldn't be able to manage their activities.

"In the past, the government would settle all losses from the rice-pledging programme via the BAAC every year. But over the past three to four years, the government has left them unpaid. Then, we need to clean up and get things back on track," he said.

The unpaid bills left by the last government will be mostly paid off in this fiscal year (2007). There are still other leftover liabilities, such as the remaining village funds - Bt16.21 billion. They will be paid off every year until fiscal 2009, along with unknown costs from the rice and longan price-support schemes in fiscal 2006, and a few billion baht from the Ua Athorn low-cost housing project.

The remaining burden was not large and the interim government would continue to help farmers, he said. Supporting agricultural commodity prices would leave the government short, but it could manage, he said.

However, further assistance to farmers must be efficient, particularly to limit government stocks of farm goods. If the government guaranteed too high a price compared to the market, it would be difficult to unload its inventory.

Pridiyathorn said earlier the rice price guaranteed by the Thaksin government was too high, which created problems and forced this government to lower it.

Chaturon Chaisang, acting Thai Rak Thai Party leader, on Wednesday defended the Thaksin government, claiming Pridiyathorn's comments on the previous government's fiscal discipline were groundless.

Chaturon said the Thaksin government ran a balanced budget over its last two years, and that it was impossible to claim it was a free spender as accused by this government.

He said the subsidies the previous government gave to farmers were very small compared to debts derived from bailing out large corporations and financial institutions.

Pridiyathorn said the government would issue bonds to finance this year's budget deficit, which would boost public debt by 2-3 per cent, which was still acceptable. The debt-servicing ratio is 13 per cent of the total budget, which is still lower than the 16-per-cent ceiling.

The Surayud government also plans to upgrade operating standards of the specialised state banks, which were used by the Thaksin government to fund its populist policies.

Source: The Nation - 17 November 2007

[Jai Dee]

NLA prepares to consider the 2007 Budget Bill

The National Legislative Assembly will consider the Budget Bill for Fiscal 2007 this afternoon and will set up standing committees to scrutinize various issues. revealed that the Army has requested its largest funding in the last 5-6 years.

The meeting, scheduled to begin at 13:30 hours today (December 6), will encompass two important issues including the appointments of 21 Standing Committees to the National Legislative Assembly and the deliberation of the Budget Bill for Fiscal 2007 .

The Cabinet has initially set 1.57 trillion baht as expenditure budget for this fiscal year, and a currency reserve of 41 billion baht.

The largest portion of the budget worth 282 billion baht goes to the Ministry of Education. The Defence Ministry has asked for an allocation of 115 billion baht, which is higher than the amounts requested during the past 5-6 years, when severe funding cutbacks were made on the Defende budget.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 6 December 2006

[Jai Dee]

NLA casts no doubt on military’s budget proposal

The Ministry of Defense has requested a budget proposal for the year 2007, a figure slightly higher than that of year 2006. Member of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) Squadron Leader Prasong Soonsiri (ประสงค์ สุ่นศิริ) said the figure is relatively small, given the present political situation.

Mr Prasong said that he will back up the Ministry of Defense's budget request as this year covers only salaries and compensations for the ministry’s officials. In response to reports alleging the Defense Ministry's excuse for a higher budget due to the current 'unpredictable' situation, Sqn.Ldr.Prasong said he wants people to think that the military really needs more more money to operate effectively. He also wants people to understand that the government does not want to collect more tax but it has to as the ousted Thaksin administration had lacked financial discipline.

At the same time, Wallop Tangkananurak (วัลลภ ตังคณานุรักษ์), another NLA member, said he casts no doubt on the military’s budget proposal for next year. Mr Wallop said that over the past years, the strength of the military had weakened due to budget constraints. He added that NLA should expedite the approval of budgets for rehabilitation and flood prevention projects as well.

According to reports, the Ministy of Education and the Ministry of Defense have asked for higher budgets.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 6 December 2006

[Jai Dee]

Budget bill sails through first reading

The National Legislative Assembly unanimously passed the first reading of the 2007 budget bill late Wednesday night.

The bill was passed at 10:55 pm with 141 votes. None NLA members voted against the bill.

The NLA set up a 35-member panel to vet the bill. The panel includes seven representatives of the government.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont took to the floor to thank the NLA at 10:50 for accepting the bill in principle before the vote was called.

The seven government representatives on the vetting panel are Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula, Sommai Phasi, Orawan Thammo, Suparat Kawatkul, Wutthiphan Wichairat, Banthoon Supphakhawanuch and Duangsamorn Worarit.

The 28 other members of the budget bill vetting panel are:

1 Chen Wipatworawong

2 Gen Ongkorn Thongprasom

3 Gen Weerapol Waranon

4 Sommai Dabphet

5 Pol Gen Prateep Tanprasert

6 Surapol Chinachitr

7 Gen Preecha Rojanasen

8 Preecha Watcharaphai

9 Sompoj Kanchanaporn

10 Akapol Sorasuchart

11 Pinij Charusombat

12 Wissanu Krea-ngarm

13 Ampol Jindawattana

14 Lt Gen Banthern Poonkham

15 Manee Chaithiranuwatsiri

16 Assawin Khongsiri

17 Wiriya Namsiripongphan

18 Gen Somjet Boonthanom

19 Pachara Yutithamdamrong

20 Santi Wilasakdanon

21 Praphan Khoonmee

22 Phaisarn Phuetmongkol

23 Sangsit Piriyarangsan

24 Khamnoon Sitthisamarn

25 Walat Chawapong

26 Somchai Sakulsurarat

27 Wanchai Sirichana

28 Surin Pitsuwan.

The vetting panel would spend seven days to scrutinize the bill, starting from Thursday.

NLA speaker closed the meeting at 11 pm after the NLA spent nine hours to deliberate the first reading of the budget bill.

Source: The Nation - 7 December 2006

[Jai Dee]

Thailand quadruples defense spending to 43 bln dlrs

Thailand's junta-appointed parliament has approved current fiscal year's budget worth 43 billion dollars with defense spending quadrupling amid escalating violence in the Muslim-majority south.

The 1.52-trillion-baht budget for the year to September 2007 was passed by parliament late Wednesday, army-backed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said.

The budget approval was delayed for months due to Thailand's prolonged political crisis that culminated in the bloodless putsch on September 19 that ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The current budget showed the post-coup government would spend 115 billion baht on defense, up 34 percent from the previous fiscal year's 29 billion baht.

"The defense budget jumped because maintaining domestic stability is one of the most pressing issues for the government," said army spokesman Colonel Acar Thiproj.

The Thai government last month decided to lift martial law across half of the country, including Bangkok, in the first easing of restrictions since the September coup.

But military rule will remain in force in the kingdom's rural northern heartland, a stronghold of Thaksin, as well as in provinces in the far south where a separatist insurgency has raged for nearly three years.

Since taking office after the power-grab, Surayud has offered a number of olive branches, including an offer to hold peace talks with militants, in a bid to bring peace to the restive south.

But violence in the region has surged instead with a string of shootings and arson attacks against schools.

Meanwile, the government said Thailand's budget deficit in the current fiscal year would reach 146 billion baht, equal to two percent of the kingdom's gross domestic product (GDP). It was also the first shortfall in three years.

Of the approved budget, some 73 percent would go to pay for fixed expenses with 24 percent for state investment, the government said, adding Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej was expected to endorse the budget later in the month.

Source: AFP - 7 December 2006

[blaze]

"The Ministry of Defense has requested a budget proposal for the year 2007, a figure slightly higher than that of year 2006." (Thai National News Bureau).

"The current budget showed the post-coup government would spend 115 billion baht on defense, up 34 percent from the previous fiscal year's 29 billion baht." (AFP)

That is an increase of a lot more than 34 percent. Am I reading this wrong? Although the Bangkok Post yesterday also mentioned an increase of 34 percent in defence spending, the Nation didn't mention this windfall to the military at all. Or did I just miss it?

[Meerkat]

Er well I guess this comes under the new press controls so cannot comment directly. Yet.

But all the same, hardly much of a shock.

[cclub75]

That is an increase of a lot more than 34 percent. Am I reading this wrong? Although the Bangkok Post yesterday also mentioned an increase of 34 percent in defence spending, the Nation didn't mention this windfall to the military at all. Or did I just miss it?

Non. The issue is so sensitive that "journalists" at Nation or BKK Post or AFP went all to toilets to write their reports...

Flush.

Anyway. It's a mistake.

The military budget is around 2 billions USD/year. In THB it was 78.5 billions THB in 2004.

So, the new budget shows an increase of 34 % (figure given by BBK post) not "quadrupling" !

You'll find all the datas (nominal budget in constant THB, current THB, and in constant USD etc.) on page 17/18 of this report :

http://www.defence.gov.au/dio/documents/det2004.pdf

(image of the report included).

Anyway, Chakutchak Market is already open : Sonthi went to Pakistan recently to visit a weapons exposition and was like a little boy in front of a Christmas Tree.

Edited December 8, 2006 by cclub75

[Jai Dee]

Science and Technology Ministry outlines plan to spend the 2007 budget

Minister of Science and Technology Yongyuth Yuthawong (ยงยุทธ ยุทธวงศ์) revealed that the ministry has received a budget of 11 billion baht in Fiscal 2007 from the government, which is higher than the previous year.

However, it has to spend the money wisely as the government has a huge financial burden ahead. According to Mr Yongyuth, the ministry has planned to allocate a larger portion of budget for the research and development of technology-based products, especially those which can facilitate the disabled.

In addition, the ministry will cooperate with the industrial sector to set up science parks in each region of the country to develop new products and services. The Ministry of Industry will help outline a master plan aiming to strengthen intellectual infrastructure. Mr Yongyuth added that it will also provide technological support to entrepreneurs to boost their production.

As for the ministry’s implementation of the Sufficiency Economy, he revealed that technological innovations will be applied to this new theory as seen in one of its projects which intends to educate people about how technological advancement can help them live sufficiently.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 08 December 2006

[Chang_paarp]

I think you will find this is catch up.

At a guess the budget for the police was generously increased over the past few years at the expense of the military. So this year the police get a very modest increase (if any) and the military get a better increase to reflect the new order.