Thai govt plans huge digital wallet handout to boost economy

The Pheu Thai Party government, led by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, is set to roll out a massive digital wallet handout scheme worth 500 billion baht (US$13.75 billion) in the fourth quarter of this year. The scheme, which is designed to stimulate economic activity, involves transferring a sum of 10,000 baht (US$275) to 50 million Thai citizens, intended to be spent locally within a six-month timeframe.

As the finance minister as well, the 62 year old prime minister stated at a recent briefing that the ambitious scheme could potentially increase the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 1.2 to 1.6 percentage points. He emphasised the crucial need for substantial stimulus measures, given that growth in the first quarter of 2024 was likely less than 1%, following a mere 1.7% expansion in the preceding quarter.

The scheme targets Thais…