The Thai private sector believes that the country’s economy is likely to expand by between 3.0% and 3.5% this year, if the new government, expected to be formed within September, immediately rolls out economic stimulus packages, according to Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trade.

He cited the Pheu Thai party’s “digital wallet” scheme, under which about 50 million Thai nationals aged 16 and older will each have a one-time 10,000 baht subsidy wired into their “digital wallet”, for spending within six months in areas within a 4km radius of their residences.

He said that the scheme will cost the state about 500 billion baht, but it will help stimulate the economy. With every 100-150 billion baht spent, the GDP will increase by about 1%, or up to 3% for the spending over the whole six months.

He admitted, however, that there is concern over from where the 500 billion baht in seed money will come without severely affecting state reserves, as he urged the government to broaden the tax base by encouraging business operators to enter the tax system.

As the Thai economy is gradually recovering, amidst a global economic slowdown and the continuing war in Ukraine, Sanan said that the new government must be formed quickly to address the various challenges, particularly economic problems faced by the people and business operators due to high fuel and power charges and an export contraction.

Another issue of concern is drought, which is expected to cause about 53 billion baht in damage to the Thai economy, said Sanan, as he urged the new government to come up with effective measures to mitigate the damage and to ensure sufficient water supply for the farm, industrial and service sectors.

In the longer term, he said the government must make all sectors to pay attention to the issues of the environment and sustainability, noting that these issues are being used as trade barriers by several trading partners of Thailand.

Pointing out the importance of the finance minister, Sanan said the private sector wants the person who assumes this important post to be efficient, knowledgeable, acceptable and meet the expectations of all sectors of society.