Thai Cabinet approves $5.66b cash handout to help revive economy

Thailand's Cabinet approved a cash handout plan totalling 145.6 billion baht (S$5.66 billion) that will benefit millions of poor people and help stimulate South-east Asia's second-largest economy.

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The government will start transferring 10,000 baht each to an estimated 14.6 million beneficiaries from Sept 25, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira told a briefing after a Cabinet meeting in Bangkok on Sept 17.

The beneficiaries include 12.4 million state welfare cardholders and 2.15 million people with disabilities, he said.

The stimulus is the centrepiece of new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's efforts to revive an economy that has grown roughly an average of 2 per cent a year for the past decade, less than half the pace of neighbouring Indonesia.

The payout will lift growth by 35 basis points in 2024, according to an official statement.