Thai government launches fresh economic stimulus packages to help locals and SMEs tide through COVID-19

As shared by Thailand’s DPM Supattanapong Punmeechaow, the packages include a 50% co-payment subsidy on salaries for qualified SMEs, as well as 93bn baht in co-payments for consumer purchases to locals.

Earlier this week, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow announced several economic stimulus packages the Ministry of Finance will be launching, to help the country’s economy recover from the impact of COVID-19.

These packages were announced in a series of Facebook posts.

According to DPM Punmeechaow, there are mainly four measures, all of which provide stronger purchasing power for locals - especially those who are government welfare card holders, and those who need special assistance. Per a report in Bloomberg, these measures are:

• 93bn baht in co-payments for consumer purchases to locals;
• 16.4bn baht in cash handouts to welfare cards holders;
• 3bn baht cash handout to special groups; and
• 28bn baht cash-backs to higher-income Thais.

The measures are expected to start as early as 1 July 2021, and last till 31 December 2021.

As part of the co-payment measure, DPM Punmeechaow shared that Thais are entitled to 50% cost coverage for essentials (such as food and beverages), general goods and services, and transport expenses. This, however, will not be applicable for lottery tickets, alcohol, or cigarettes.

In a separate social media post, Anucha Burapachaisri, a government spokesperson, chimed in on the aforementioned measure, saying: “This project stands to benefit 31mn Thais.”

The following, as explained by DPM Punmeechaow, are terms and conditions for co-payment:

• Not more than 150 baht per person per day;
• Not more than 1,500 baht per person in each cycle for three months;
• Not more than 3,000 baht per person throughout the programme period.

“The total amount is 93bn baht, which will help fill the purchasing power of the people. It is expected that there will be money into the economy of 186bn baht,” shared DPM Punmeechaow.

Through another post, DPM Punmeechaow also addressed this question posed: How is the government helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by COVID-19?

To that, he responded: “For SMEs, the government is trying to help them access soft loans for liquidity in their business operations. The government has approved a fresh 500bn baht loan decree a few days ago.”

According to Bangkok Post, the loan decree offers a 50% co-payment subsidy for the monthly salary of employees of qualified SMEs. Although an official start date has yet to be determined, the coverage could last three to nine months.

It was said that the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), and the Thai Chamber of Commerce have been tasked to identify SMEs eligible for the measure.

“This soft loan will benefit more entrepreneurs, longer. And the interest rate is not very high. I want everyone to see the government's intention to support SMEs,” added DPM Punmeechaow.

He hopes that this move will help drive Thai SMEs to be stronger, and have more liquidity to function in the midst of this crisis.

Image/Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow’s Facebook

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