BANGKOK - Thailand will distribute 145 billion baht ($4.2 billion) of its "digital wallet" handout program earlier than scheduled to support vulnerable groups, a deputy finance minister said on Monday, stressing the need for short-term economic stimulus.
In remarks during a budget debate in the Senate, Julapun Amornvivat said the government has prepared 450 billion baht ($13.29 billion) in total for its signature handout program, which seeks to stimulate economic activity by transferring 10,000 baht to 50 million Thais to spend in their localities.
The measure, which was scheduled for rollout in the last quarter of this year, is the cornerstone of Thailand's plans to jumpstart Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, which grew 2.3 percent in the second quarter.
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A change in government last month, caused by a court's shock removal of Srettha Thavisin as premier, has left uncertainty about when promised stimulus measures would commence.
Part of the handout will now be in cash, Srettha's ally and successor, Paetongtarn Shinawatra said last week.
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Finance official Julapun said 32 million people had registered so far for the program including vulnerable groups, but not those without smartphones, through which funds were due to be received via an application.
It was not immediately clear the first tranche of payments, which Julapun said would be made later in September and would be from the 2024 budget and other sources, would be in cash.
His remarks come after Paetongtarn, the daughter of politically influential billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, at the weekend promised to stimulate the economy right away and follow through on Srettha's policy agenda.
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Her new government published a policy statement on Sunday that Paetongtarn will deliver to parliament later this week.
It insists the policy is necessary to energize the economy, which the central bank expects to grow just 2.6 percent this year, up from 1.9 percent in 2023 and far adrift of most regional peers.
