3000-baht to to stimulate domestic demand and support small businesses

The Center for Economic Situation Administration approved economic stimulus packages worth 68 billion baht. The initiative of this plan is to support the cost of living and to create about 260,000 more jobs for graduates.

Two leading economic stimulus initiatives were accepted by the Center for Economic Situation Administration Affected by Covid-19, said Danucha Pichayanan, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Council for Economic and Social Progress.

The first is giving people 3,000-baht cash handouts to purchase consumer goods for a 45-billion baht budget. It aims to stimulate domestic demand and to support small businesses.

Under the campaign, by providing 3,000 baht in cash annually, the government would subsidize 50 percent of expenditures to 15 million residents. Participants would pay 50 percent of the products they buy for the rest.

Registered users must register with the program, and the money would be transferred via the G-wallet app from Pao Tang, equivalent to the Chim Shop Chai scheme (Taste, Shop, Spend).

The three-month campaign participants must primarily be Thai nationals, aged over 18 years. Their spending will be limited to between 100-250 baht a day.

The measure is projected to boost the cash flow of about 90 billion baht.

There will be about 80,000 participating shops, including convenience stores and street sellers.

The meeting also agreed that the Finance Ministry would work on the proposals within two weeks before sending the plan to the Cabinet for approval and recommending them to the center. The project is scheduled to be able to start in October this year.

The second measure is to support the new graduates to function.

The government will offer workers subsidies to pay for salaries for one year from October 2020 to October 2021.

This measure aims to create employment for new graduates, holding immediate Vocational Credential, Diploma / High Vocational Credential, and Bachelor Degrees with 260,000 positions.

The government will use the 23 billion baht allocation from the loan the Finance Ministry has lent to address the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

It will subsidize 50 percent of their monthly wages depending on their highest level of education but not more than 7,500 baht per person.

Source: Pattaya Mail