BAAC to help the poor

BANGKOK, June 18 (TNA) - The state-run Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has planned to assist low-income earners who have borrowed money from loan sharks by persuading them to join the bank which charges interest at only one per cent monthly, said Apirom Sukprasert, president of BAAC. Preliminary surveys conducted on low-income earners who have registered with BAAC found that about 300,000 of them have borrowed money from outside financial institutions, said Mr. Apirom. BAAC plans to help these people first, probably before this October, by asking them to take loans from the bank as it charges interest at only one per cent per month, said Mr. Apirom. Of about 7 million low-income earners who have registered with BAAC this year, some 3.7 million persons are agriculturists. The bank plans to help them in earning extra income such as assisting them in selling products at higher prices. BAAC also plans to cooperate with the Ministry of Labour in providing training to these people and it is expected that some one million people could join the programme in the beginning. (TNA)