By Panarat Thepgumpanat
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Tuesday that part of the government’s vaunted 450 billion baht ($13.1 billion) “digital wallet” will be distributed in cash, a new shift in the country’s populist policies.
The details are still being finalised and will be announced in a policy statement to parliament, she added.
Previously, the digital wallet involved transferring 10,000 baht ($292) in credit to 50 million Thais via a smartphone application, allowing them to spend the money locally within six months.
It was not immediately clear how much of the program’s budget would be distributed in cash. A deputy finance minister could not immediately be reached for comment.
The comments by 38-year-old Paetongtarn come two weeks after she was selected by parliament as Thailand’s youngest prime minister after her predecessor Srettha Thavisin, the policy’s biggest advocate, was removed from office by a court.
A new government is expected to be formed in mid-September. The list of cabinet members has already been finalized, but has not yet been made public.
The stimulus program, the main election manifesto of the ruling Pheu Thai party, is aimed at reviving an economy that has lagged behind its regional competitors.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy grew 2.3% in the April-June quarter, but analysts said uncertainty over fiscal policy clouded the outlook.
The central bank predicts economic growth of 2.6% this year, after 1.9% growth last year.
Economists and two former central bank governors have criticized the handout program as fiscally irresponsible, and the government has delayed the program due to funding problems. It is due to be rolled out in the final quarter.
Government officials have promised that the plan will take budgetary discipline into account.
Paetongtran, 38, is the daughter of influential former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is still seen as a major force in politics.
In a speech to top officials last month, Thaksin backed the digital wallet plan and previously said earmarking some of the payout in cash would benefit vulnerable groups.
($1 = 34.2600 baht)
(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Writing by Chayut Setboonsarng, Editing by John Mair, Martin Petty)
