Thailand’s government is set to launch the third phase of its 450 billion baht ($13.4 billion) stimulus package in the second quarter of 2025, with plans for further economic stimulus to be deliberated later this month, as announced by a deputy finance minister.
Julapun Amornvivat expressed confidence that initiatives like the “digital wallet” handout scheme, alongside other government interventions, will play a key role in boosting the country’s economy this year.
The “digital wallet” initiative involves distributing 10,000 baht to approximately 45 million individuals, encouraging them to spend within their local communities over a six-month period. To date, around 17.5 million recipients have already benefited from this scheme since its commencement in September of the previous year. The upcoming phase of the handout, initially slated for April as stated by Julapun, will be on the agenda during discussions regarding additional economic measures led by the prime minister.
Julapun highlighted the positive impact of the preceding two phases of the stimulus program in driving economic activity. However, Bank of Thailand Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput expressed reservations last week, indicating that the efficacy of the handouts and other stimulus efforts had fallen short of expectations, potentially causing economic growth for the year to fall below the central bank’s 2.9% projection. Despite this, the finance ministry remains optimistic with a growth forecast of 3% for the year 2025.
