Thailand announces US$2.2bil worth of additional stimulus in handouts, job measures

In this Aug. 6, 2020, file photo, shoppers walk though a clothing market in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand's economy contracted at a 12.2% annual rate in the April-June quarter, its sharpest downturn since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. (AP Photo/ Gemunu Amarasinghe, File)

BANGKOK: Thailand announced on Wednesday 68.5 billion baht (US$2.2bil)worth of fiscal stimulus in cash handouts and job measures to support Southeast Asia's second-largest economy which has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement comes one day after the surprise resignation of newly-appointed Finance Minister Predee Daochai, which Thailand's prime minister said earlier would not impact economic policy or investor confidence.