Thai government to work out balanced budgets over next decade

BANGKOK, July 19 (TNA) - The Thai government plans to tailor balanced budgets over the next 11 years, based on a major condition that the national economy should grow by about 5 per cent year-on-year during the targeted period. Thai Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong announced the plan at an economic seminar in Bangkok on Thursday, organized by Krungthep Thurakij Newspaper. Apisak explained that the Thai government needs to stimulate the national economy to grow by about 5 per cent year-on-year over the next 11 years when there will be balanced stated budgets because if the national economy grew lower than 5 per cent yearly during the targeted period, or4 per cent for instance, it would take up to 18 years for the country to achieve the planned reduction of social disparity in order to be free from the status of a remaining impoverished nation. Apisak conceded that the Thai government, thus, needs to expand its tax bases to coverall business sectors and to rely mostly on its practicalfiscal policy to drive ahead the national economic growth, rather than the financial policy, regulated by the Bank of Thailand (BOT) through its key interest rate, which could affect the value of the Thai baht and exports, as well as income of local agriculturists and the impoverished-free status as targeted. Besides, the Thai government is promoting more private investment projects, especially those in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), where the Laem ChabangPort will be developedas a regional deep seaport andthe U Tapao International Airport will be connected with new electric train systems. The minister said, however, that the Thai government's planned mega-investment in expanding transport infrastructure projects over the next four years, totally worth up to 2 trillion baht, could boost the public debt to 48 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), from 40.4 per cent currently, but it would be below the red line-60 per cent of the GDP, the ceiling of public debt in order to maintain the national financial security. (TNA)