Image from The Nation Thailand/ANN
BANGKOK (Reuters): Thailand's economy is expected to grow 3% this year, supported by the government's digital wallet stimulus programme, new fiscal-year budget spending and an expanded government equity fund, a senior finance ministry official has announced.
Southeast Asia's second-largest economy will post a jump in growth in the final quarter of the year, Lavaron Sangsnit, the ministry's permanent secretary, told reporters.
The government will transfer 145 billion baht (US$4.4 billion)- the first tranche of the 450 billion baht digital wallet scheme - to vulnerable groups in cash between Sept. 25 and 28, he said.
The 2025 fiscal budget, which starts on Oct. 1, and the expansion of government equity fund will also boost the economy, Lavaron said.
The economy grew 2.3% in the second quarter from the same period in 2023, with first-half annual growth at 1.9%
In July, the finance ministry raised its forecast for economic growth to 2.7% this year, after last year's 1.9% expansion, which lagged regional peers.
($1 = 33.3100 baht) (Reporting by Kitiphong Thaichareon; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by John Mair) - Reuters
