Thai Cabinet approves higher budget for fiscal 2024, aiming to boost economy

THAILAND’S new Cabinet approved on Monday (Sep 18) higher budget spending of 3.48 trillion baht (S$132.9 billion) for fiscal year 2024, along with a larger deficit of 693 billion baht, the deputy finance minister said.

The bigger allocation comes as the new government, which took office last month, chalks out fresh policies to stimulate a sluggish economy weighed down by soft demand for exports and low investor confidence.

“The Cabinet approved a Budget of 3.48 trillion baht for fiscal year 2024, which is in line with economic conditions and revenue collection,” Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat told reporters.

The revised Budget is bigger than that approved by the previous government, which projected spending of 3.35 trillion baht and a deficit of 593 billion baht.

The new Budget projects a rise of 9.3 per cent in spending and a drop of 0.3 per cent in the budget deficit to 693 billion baht, or 3.63 per cent of gross domestic product, versus the current fiscal year, the Budget Bureau said.

Investment makes up 20.6 per cent of the total spending, at 717.2 billion baht. The plan is based on projected economic growth of 2.7 per cent to 3.7 per cent in 2024.

The 2024 Budget process had been on hold until the new government took over three months after the May election. Last week, the Budget Bureau said the Budget would be ready in April 2024, well after the start of the new fiscal year in October.

The Budget plan will go to parliament for a first reading in early January, and will face two more readings in early April before it is submitted for senate and royal approval.

The new Budget is in line with current economic conditions and fiscal discipline, government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke told a briefing. The Cabinet also approved a cut of 10.3 per cent in electricity bills from September, to 3.99 baht a unit, to ease the cost of living, he added.

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South-east Asia’s second-largest economy grew 1.8 per cent in the April-to-June period on the year, and 0.2 per cent on the quarter, slowing sharply from the previous three months. It is now expected to grow 2.8 per cent this year. This is still less than the ministry’s previous projection of 3.5 per cent growth.