Thailand's flagship US$14b handout scheme suffers early snags as millions rush to register
==========
Thailand's flagship US$14 billion handout scheme, which aims to give 10,000 baht (US$282) to most of the population, experienced early setbacks as millions rushed to register on the opening day and crashed the registration system. By early afternoon, 10.5 million people had applied to join the scheme, but many others could not access the registration portal due to not receiving text message passcodes. The government has invested heavily in the scheme to stimulate the economy, but it has faced delays due to uncertainty over funding sources. Critics argue that the scheme is short-sighted and fiscally risky, while the government defends it. The lower house has approved an additional 122 billion baht for 2024's fiscal year to fund the digital wallet, but Senate and royal endorsement is still required. The scheme is expected to launch in two months and will transfer 10,000 baht of credit to users via a smartphone application to be spent locally within six months. The Finance Ministry expects the economy to grow 2.7% this year, supported by tourism and exports, and believes the handout programme could add 1.2 to 1.8 percentage points to growth next year. The objective of the policy is to stimulate regional economic activity and reduce concentration in cities. The scheme is open to 50 million people, with an expected uptake of 45 million, excluding those who earn more than 840,000 baht per year or have 500,000 baht in their bank accounts.
https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/721280
The Edge Malaysia /
npub15q…t0mcv
2024-08-01 09:11:12
Author Public Key
npub15q3n6g46fstp0h7wemjzwkh9jy6akndzdzk2sz8q0hwgvz6sfe3srt0mcvPublished at
2024-08-01 09:11:12Event JSON
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"content": "Thailand's flagship US$14b handout scheme suffers early snags as millions rush to register\n==========\n\nThailand's flagship US$14 billion handout scheme, which aims to give 10,000 baht (US$282) to most of the population, experienced early setbacks as millions rushed to register on the opening day and crashed the registration system. By early afternoon, 10.5 million people had applied to join the scheme, but many others could not access the registration portal due to not receiving text message passcodes. The government has invested heavily in the scheme to stimulate the economy, but it has faced delays due to uncertainty over funding sources. Critics argue that the scheme is short-sighted and fiscally risky, while the government defends it. The lower house has approved an additional 122 billion baht for 2024's fiscal year to fund the digital wallet, but Senate and royal endorsement is still required. The scheme is expected to launch in two months and will transfer 10,000 baht of credit to users via a smartphone application to be spent locally within six months. The Finance Ministry expects the economy to grow 2.7% this year, supported by tourism and exports, and believes the handout programme could add 1.2 to 1.8 percentage points to growth next year. The objective of the policy is to stimulate regional economic activity and reduce concentration in cities. The scheme is open to 50 million people, with an expected uptake of 45 million, excluding those who earn more than 840,000 baht per year or have 500,000 baht in their bank accounts.\n\n\n\nhttps://theedgemalaysia.com/node/721280",
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