BANGKOK: “Thailand’s New PM Outlines Policies”, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Thursday (Sep 12) outlined her government’s policy agenda to parliament, headlined by plans to give away 450 billion baht (US$13.4 billion) in handouts to jumpstart Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
The policies largely continue ally Srettha’s agenda and that of their populist Pheu Thai party, including debt restructuring and legalising casinos to draw in investment and more tourists.
Paetongtarn told parliament her government was facing challenges, including structural economic problems, and said the government would act with urgency to stimulate growth.
That would result in the public debt level approaching the ceiling of 70 per cent to gross domestic product (GDP) in 2027, she said. Public debt stood at 63.74 per cent of GDP at the end of July.
“Therefore, it is a great challenge that the government must urgently restore the country’s economy to quickly grow strongly again,” Paetongtarn said.
The government insists the policy is necessary to energise the economy, which the central bank expects to grow 2.6 per cent this year, up from 1.9 per cent in 2023 but far adrift of most regional peers.
Consumer confidence dropped for a sixth straight month to a 13-month low in August, a survey showed on Thursday.
Paetongtarn, 38, made her debut appearance in parliament as Thailand’s second female prime minister. She is the fourth member of her family to hold the top job.
Among those was her father, the billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s most influential and divisive politician over the past two decades, who has backed the stimulus plan and is a key figure behind her Pheu Thai party.
