Thailand says new economic measures to ease virus impact worth 10% of GDP

[snoop1130]

Thailand says new economic measures to ease virus impact worth 10% of GDP

By Orathai Sriring and Satawasin Staporncharnchai

 

An empty street is seen in the touristic district of Bangkok, as Thailand will impose a nationwide night curfew from Friday April 3, to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand, April 2, 2020. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's new package of economic measures to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak will be worth about 10% of its gross domestic product (GDP), Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said on Friday.

 

The package will cover all economic sectors for at least the next six months, the minister told a news conference after a special cabinet meeting.

 

"The figure will be like those of other countries, close to 10% of GDP," he said, adding other details were being worked on by relevant agencies.

 

If possible, final approval will be sought from the cabinet on Tuesday, Somkid said.

 

The minister did not give a dollar value for the package, but the GDP of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy last year was 16.88 trillion baht ($512.76 billion).

 

The measures will be partly financed by the fiscal budget and borrowing, he said.

 

"This will build the confidence of people and businesses that we will get through this crisis".

 

The government will keep introducing measures to help the economy, he said.

 

The latest package follow last month's two sets of stimulus measures together worth more than 500 billion baht.

 

Thailand has reported 1,978 infections and 19 deaths because of the coronavirus.

 

It imposed a nationwide night curfew from Friday, after closing malls, beauty salons and arcades to limit the spread of the virus.

 

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) expects the economy to contract 5.3% this year, the worst since the 1998 Asian financial crisis.

 

The BOT is seeking a law to provide soft loans directly to struggling businesses, similar to a move many years ago when there was bad flooding, Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob told the conference.

 

The central bank will also seek a law to allow it to buy good quality corporate bonds that are being rolled over to support the 3.5 trillion-baht corporate debt market, he said.

It will buy at most half of the debt being rolled-over, he said.

 

The BOT also plans to lower the amount that commercial banks pay into the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) for two years to 0.23% of deposits from 0.46%, so that banks can cut other interest rates to help businesses, he said.

 

The BOT will extend deposit protection of 5 million baht for another year from August, he added.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-03

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[RichardColeman]

7 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) expects the economy to contract 5.3% this year, the worst since the 1998 Asian financial crisis.

think that decimal point is in the wrong place

[ChrisY1]

Wonder just how much will actually be used for economic purposes.....

When governments globally, incl. Thailand of course, start to throw money around like confetti, plenty disappears...10% of GDP is $50+billion here...free money for many!

[Assurancetourix]

14 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

think that decimal point is in the wrong place

I will even go much further and this will be for all the economies, not only that of Thailand.
As it seems gone, that is to say very bad turn, we will return to the stone age while having internet .. As long as the internet will work ....
It will never stop; when this Covid-19 is finally defeated;
a Covid-20 then a Covid-21 will fall on our heads ...
If you believe in any god, pray;
for the others, including myself, start learning how to grow fruits and vegetables and buy yourself a bow and arrow

[Assurancetourix]

4 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

Wonder just how much will actually be used for economic purposes.....

When governments globally, incl. Thailand of course, start to throw money around like confetti, plenty disappears...10% of GDP is $50+billion here...free money for many!

It's called helicopter money;
it is not stupid provided that it is on a short duration;
however this Covid-19 will not last a few days or even a few weeks but a year or even much more if his little brothers also wake up.

So free change you can always use it to light the fire ...

[kingstonkid]

Good idea but I do not think it willhelp a lot of businesses in Pattaya or the NANA area of Thailand.  This is going to be money that will go to real businesses the Tourist side busineses are still going to be screwed.  It will be interesting 4 months after this is over to see how many shops have closed in Pattaya or are for sale.

[soalbundy]

30 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

I will even go much further and this will be for all the economies, not only that of Thailand.
As it seems gone, that is to say very bad turn, we will return to the stone age while having internet .. As long as the internet will work ....
It will never stop; when this Covid-19 is finally defeated;
a Covid-20 then a Covid-21 will fall on our heads ...
If you believe in any god, pray;
for the others, including myself, start learning how to grow fruits and vegetables and buy yourself a bow and arrow

Humanity survived bubonic plague without society collapsing, in fact for the survivors it had a positive effect, wages for the working people (who were in short supply) went up and some of the power structures in place then were broken down.

I think the mistake being made now is trying to control the virus and in so doing destroying the economy. Corona won't go away forever, it will just hide for a while and break out again. Let it run its course, 5% at the most will die and over the years a natural immunity will arise for the great majority, some people will still die of course just as they still do from influenza that's just the way it is.

[SoilSpoil]

Some shops, like 7-!!, Makri, Tesco, Big C will make a killing as more and more markets are closed

[spidermike007]

Thailand and many other countries, especially the US, Spain, France, Germany, and Italy should feel fortunate if the dent is only 10%. I think it will be much higher, and I think the "startup" after this thing ends will be far more lengthy and far more difficult that many project. This deliberate economic lockdown is unprecedented, inane, and a ridiculous response to the virus. I doubt if things are as they appear to be. Something else has to be going on. 

 

In Thailand we had less than 100 new cases in the past 24 hours, and one more death, and they are behaving like this is armageddon, or the Zombie Apocalypse. It is the equivalent of a small pimple on the cheek of a 13 year old. Yet, one would think the world is coming to an end here. The consequences of the economic lockdown will dwarf that of this virus by a multiple of 100. My prediction is that the tourism industry will NEVER recover here. NEVER. Sure it will come back. But, I doubt we will ever see the numbers from before. That may be a good thing for many of us, but devastating for millions of Thai families.

 

 

[brain150]

37 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

In Thailand we had less than 100 new cases in the past 24 hours, and one more death, and they are behaving like this is armageddon, or the Zombie Apocalypse. It is the equivalent of a small pimple on the cheek of a 13 year old. Yet, one would think the world is coming to an end here. The consequences of the economic lockdown will dwarf that of this virus by a multiple of 100. My prediction is that the tourism industry will NEVER recover here. NEVER. Sure it will come back. But, I doubt we will ever see the numbers from before. That may be a good thing for many of us, but devastating for millions of Thai families.

 

 

Ever thought about that this is the purpose of all this ?

[Brickbat]

Baht still so strong . Except against the USD. Acc to R Kiyosaki, stimulus money is welfare to the rich. Most of it goes in bail outs. One real tragedy will be families forced into this lockdown. That’s where the cracks will appear.