Finance Ministry mulls new round for co-payment

The Finance Ministry plans to add another registration round for the second phase of the co-payment subsidy at the end of this month because 1.34 million rights have not been exercised.

Under the co-payment scheme, the government pays for 50% of food, drink and general goods purchases for up to 150 baht per person per day, capped at 3,000 baht per person for a specified duration.

The objective is to stimulate consumer spending after sentiment was gutted by the pandemic.

The first-phase scheme started on Oct 23 and ended on Dec 31.

The government allocated 30 billion baht for the first phase, covering 10 million people, with each receiving a 3,000-baht money transfer.

The second-phase co-payment scheme, which runs between Jan 1 and March 31, covers an additional 5 million people, with the amount of subsidies raised from 3,000 to 3,500 baht per person.

The…