BangkokThailand’s Ministry of Finance is set to implement additional stimulus measures to achieve the government’s economic growth target of 3.8% for 2016.

Permanent Secretary of Finance Somchai Sujjapongse revealed that the ministry will focus its assistance on farmers and low-income earners. For example, financial institutions will be asked to approve more loans and ease payment deadlines, reports government-run National News Bureau of Thailand.

Somchai said the first quarter of 2016 is expected to perform well, citing projects to support small-scale investments. In the second quarter, he said the challenge is maintaining this positive momentum through a series of carefully timed stimulus measures.

The Bureau of the Budget is planning to allocate THB70 billion (US$2 billion) to THB100 billion to fund stimulus measures in the first half of the year. This will be followed by the construction of several infrastructure projects beginning the third quarter to help the country achieve its annual growth target.

In related news, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Chatusripitak estimates that the national economy in 2015 expanded by 2.8% to 3% compared to the 0.9% growth rate posted in 2014.

Somkid said he expects this year’s economy to be better that last year despite the negative outlook given it by many sectors. The government, he added, would channel its efforts into pushing for a 5% export growth and the continuous strengthening of the vibrant tourism sector.

Meanwhile, private-sector players also unveiled their own projections for the year. The president of the Federation of Thai Industries, Suphan Mongkholsuthi, forecasts Thailand to register growth of 3% to 3.5% in 2016, as he batted for government to expedite investment in infrastructure for the agricultural sector and increase the value of agricultural products.

On the other hand, the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking sees the gross domestic product (GDP) growing by least 3.5% this year, while the Kasikorn Research Center expects economic activity to gradually improve and the overall economy to expand by 3%.

The economy is likely to show signs of recovery in the second half of the year if the government pushes forward investment projects as planned and if commodity prices in the world market do not decline, said the research center.

Recovery in the first half of 2016 will depend on whether increased capital spending, stimulus measures by the government, and private investments will be enough to offset the weakness of other sectors of the economy.

The performance of Thailand’s export sector will continue to depend on the recovery of the global economy and can be burdened by volatility in the financial markets as the world waits for the next round of interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve, said Kasikorn.

Photo: Ian Gratton from Sutton-n-Craven, North Yorkshire, England

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