GSB assists Thai farmers

BANGKOK, June 3 (TNA) - The Government Savings Bank (GSB) has won a bidding contest to lend 50 billion baht to the official rice-pledging scheme to pay local farmers who sold their grains under the scheme. Chularat Suteethorn, Director-General of the Thai Ministry of Finance's Public Debt Management Office (PDMO), told journalists on Tuesday that the GSB has won the contest, as it offered to lend the whole sum of 50 billion baht with a historically low interest rate of 2.179 per cent, even lower than that of Thai government bonds at 2.45 per cent. Chularat said that the GSB will then transfer the first lot of 30 billion baht to the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) on June 6 and the second lot of 20 billion baht on June 12 so that the BAAC will later pay the farmers awaiting their money. The GSB stated that it set the low interest to assist local rice growers. Chularat noted that the bidding contest attracted 12 contenders which offered combined credits worth 145 billion baht, and that her office will invite financial institutes to another bidding contest next Thursday to raise 40 billion baht to repay the BAAC, which had advanced its sum to pay local farmers for their pledged rice. (TNA)