Government certain GDP to sustain growth at 4% in 2017

BANGKOK, Jan 7 (TNA) -- The government is certain that Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) would sustain growth at 4 per cent in 2017 if massive investment on its major basic infrastructure projects goes as planned while the country’s exports continue growing, said Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak. Mr Somkid, responsible for national economic affairs, said the government wanted to see the private sector to invest more to accelerate the national economy. In an attempt to strengthen the economy, he said the Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) has been assigned the key government agency in issuing additional aid packages to help aged people. The FPO will cooperate with government-run hospitals, the Government Housing Bank and the National Housing Authority to help the elderly people, said Mr Somkid. He said Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-ocha also wanted to reduce social disparity through providing additional welfare. The state-run Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives will cooperate with the FPO in setting up a community financial institution and a land bank within the next three months to help land owners who do not have sufficient money to invest, said Mr Somkid. On the government attempts to resolve people debts outside financial institution, he said the government plans to issue a special campaign later this month in which both debtors and creditors will be taken into a legally system. On the other hand, the Finance Ministry plans to enforce property tax, enlarging tax free outlets and the government-sponsored special economic zones, a measure to collect revenue around basic infrastructure projects, plans to establish Thailand Future Fund and the elderly people fund in 2017. (TNA)