New Thai government approves higher spending, budget deficit for fiscal 2024

THAILAND’S new Cabinet on Wednesday (Sep 13) approved a plan for higher fiscal 2024 spending of 3.48 trillion baht (S$132.6 billion) and a larger budget deficit of 693 billion baht, the government said.

The government expects gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.2 per cent next year, it said in a statement.

It targeted a public-debt-to-GDP ratio of 64 per cent by the end of the 2024 fiscal year. The targets were part of a medium-term plan up to 2027.

The move comes as the new administration, led by the populist Pheu Thai Party, prepares a raft of new policies to ease the cost of living, suspend debts for farmers, raise minimum wages and provide handouts to all adult Thais via digital wallets.

The budget earlier this year approved by the previous government projected a 5.18 per cent rise in spending to 3.35 trillion baht, including 717 billion baht in investment. It projected a 14.68 per cent drop in the budget deficit to 593 billion baht, or 3 per cent of GDP. REUTERS