Thailand has announced a new economic relief package worth $11.2 billion that aims to improve the liquidity of businesses in the country through the issuance of soft loans, media reports said. While around $8 billion was allocated for soft loans, the remaining $3.2 billion will be allocated to an asset warehousing’ programme.
Small and medium-sized businesses in Thailand are expected to benefit from the new economic relief package approved by the Thai government. Reportedly, now businesses with credit not exceeding $15.million can apply for loans of up to 30 percent of the credit limit which was previously capped at 20 percent. The loan period is also extended to five years whereas previously, it was two years.
Recently, finance minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said that Thailand’s economic growth is expected to accelerate from 2023 to 2024, driven by public investment, after slowly recovering from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. While speaking at a business seminar, he said that the government is maintaining its GDP growth target of 4 percent this year, supported by government spending, private investment, exports and tourism.
According to the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council. Thailand’s real gross domestic product shrank 6.1 percent in 2020 compared with the previous year. The last time Thailand’s economy shrank was in 2008 and 1998 where the economy shrank 0.7 percent and 7.6 percent respectively. In November 2020, the agency said that the Thai economy will grow between 3.5 percent and 4.5 percent in 2021.