BANGKOK- Thailand’s economy is expected to grow 3 percent this year, supported by the government’s digital wallet stimulus program, new fiscal-year budget spending and an expanded government equity fund, a senior finance ministry official said on Friday.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy will post a jump in growth in the final quarter of the year, LavaronSangsnit, the ministry’s permanent secretary, told reporters.
The government will transfer 145 billion baht ($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 percent in the second quarter from the same period in 2023, with first-half annual growth at 1.9 percent
In July, the finance ministry raised its forecast for economic growth to 2.7 percent this year, after last year’s 1.9 percent expansion, which lagged regional peers.
