BANGKOK :
“Thai PM Promotes Digital Wallet Scheme”,The Thai government’s flagship 500 billion baht ($13.8 billion) “digital wallet” handout scheme will spur job creation and stimulate underdeveloped provinces and regions, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Thursday.
Some minor changes to the policy reflect public opinion, he said in a speech to parliament, adding the government planned to announce all the details of the policy on July 24.
“The capital injection will help spur manufacturing and create jobs,” Srettha told lawmakers.
The scheme proposes giving approximately 50 million Thais 10,000 baht each to be spent locally within six months. Planned to begin in the fourth quarter, the government has faced challenges in securing funding sources for its implementation.
Srettha did not mention the total budget cost of the policy in his speech.
On Wednesday, a deputy finance minister said that based on past experience there might be a take-up rate of about 90 per cent, which meant the scheme could cost around 450 billion baht.
Two former central bank governors and economists have criticised the plan as fiscally irresponsible, but the government has rejected those arguments.
