(Bloomberg) — Thailand expects the recipients of its two-part cash handout at no more than 40 million, which will make it easier for the government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to finance and implement.
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The government will kick off the first phase by giving 10,000 baht ($300) to each of the 14.5 million Thais in most need of assistance from Sept. 25 to Oct. 1, Permanent Secretary for Finance Lavaron Sangsnit told reporters in Bangkok on Monday.
The second phase to be implemented early next year will cover the rest of the 36 million Thais who applied for the program by the registration deadline at the weekend, he said.
“The overall number won’t exceed 40 million. This will make it easier for the government to manage financing for the project,” Lavaron said, citing an initial coverage estimate of 45 million people. Budgets approved by the parliament for this fiscal year as well as next will cover the funding of the program, he said.
The cash gift program, along with government spending and additional kick from the state-run Vayupak Fund to boost the stock market will help energize Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy in the fourth quarter, according to Lavaron. Thailand’s sub-2% annual gross domestic product growth in the past decade has lagged most neighbors expanding at 5% or faster.
Paetongtarn’s cabinet is set to approve the plans for the cash stimulus on Tuesday. The original plan under her predecessor was to give away cash to as many as 50 million Thai adults.
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