Finance Minister listens to the BoT's warning about setting an additional budget of 1.22 billion baht, prepares to discuss reviving LTF.

Finance Minister points out that the Bank of Thailand's warning about setting an additional budget of 1.22 billion baht is a good thing. Confident that public debt will not exceed 70% to GDP. Reveals preparation for meeting with FETCO to discuss criteria for reviving LTF to stimulate the capital market.

On May 29, 2567, Mr. Pichai Choonhavachira, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance , disclosed that the Bank of Thailand (BOT) had submitted a letter to the Cabinet Secretary for inclusion in the Cabinet agenda. This followed a request from the Cabinet Secretariat for the BOT to provide its opinion to the Cabinet regarding the approval of the revised medium-term fiscal plan (fiscal years 2568-2571), which increases the additional budget expenditure by 1.22 billion baht.

The Bank of Thailand stated that it had no objection, as it was in line with the resolution of the Monetary and Fiscal Policy Committee. The government should consider the impact of increasing the budget deficit on fiscal stability and fiscal space for implementing government policies, as well as the increased public debt and government interest burden.

Mr. Pichai stated that the Bank of Thailand's comments were a good warning. However, during a crisis, the issue of sufficient cash reserves inevitably arises. Therefore, a balance must be struck between taking certain actions or doing nothing at all to determine the best course of action. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Finance will take those comments into careful consideration.

“You have to compare doing nothing and doing something. Which one will get better results? If you don't do anything There will probably be no change in the treasury. But if you do some of it, what will the other results be? I agree that this is a good warning. We are ready to take a closer look, especially in terms of the treasury and fiscal stability. But he is not worried about the impact on public debt of hitting the ceiling of 70% at the current public debt level. It is still manageable within the next 4-5 years.”

Mr. Pichai further revealed that the Ministry of Finance recently discussed with the Federation of Thai Capital Market Businesses (FETCO) the guidelines and criteria for revitalizing long-term equity funds (LTF) in order to stimulate the Thai stock market to become active again.

“At this time, we are not sure whether it will be next month or not. If FETCO is ready, we can make an appointment immediately. Because we are ready.”

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• (20 May 67) Asset Management Association discusses with FETCO, agrees on conditions for LTF to set up a tax deduction fund on 21 May.