Thai government mulls new economic stimulus measures

BANGKOK, June 3 (TNA) - The interim Thai government is considering to introduce a new round of economic stimulus measures, set to be implemented by specialized financial institutes. Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha told the plan while chairing a meeting of permanent secretaries of ministries at Bangkok's Government House on Wednesday to lay down his policies. The meeting discussed the new round of economic stimulus measures, under which eight state-run specialized financial institutes will be assigned to extend soft loans to the public at their fairs to be organized in five Thai provinces from June 27-29. The Thai prime minister also thanked the senior officials for helping solve problems and asked them to explain the government's work to the mass media and the public. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Sommai Phasee told the Press conference on Thailand Economy Monitor fair, organized in the Thai capital by the US-based World Bank, that his ministry is implementing a tax reform but the rate of the value-added tax (VAT) will remain unchanged over the next 12 months. For the new land and building tax, which would noticeably raise the government's revenues with its impacts on people to be minimized, Sommai noted that a bill for the tax reform would reach the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) over the next couple of months. (TNA)