JSCCIB for water: Thai committee floats idea to dip into digital wallet funds for H2O solutions

The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) proposed that the Thai government allocate a portion of its 560 billion baht digital wallet scheme budget towards supporting water management plans.

The committee argues that Thailand needs immediate and long-term solutions to deal with flooding and drought, which is forecasted to affect the agricultural sector due to El Niño-induced conditions, as advised by the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry.

Despite the government’s commitment to the 10,000-baht digital wallet scheme, which aims to benefit 56 million people via Krungthai Bank’s Pao Tang app, the JSCCIB suggests a different approach.

Sanan Angubolkul, Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and a key member of the JSCCIB stated that the Pao Tang app has 40 million people registered.

“The government should base its digital wallet scheme on this figure.”

The JSCCIB is urging the government to target the stimulus scheme to specific population segments and local businesses.

According to Sanan, the scheme may not need to cover 56 million individuals, as Thailand needs financial resources to tackle other issues, such as the nation’s water problems.

The JSCCIB reports that only 54% of the country’s water is usable, a decrease from 66% during the same period the previous year.

Sanan suggests that the government can use some of the 560 billion baht for water management to help Thailand better deal with its water problems.

The JSCCIB yesterday stood by its GDP growth forecast for the year, predicting a range of 2.5-3%, with an expected contraction in exports between -2% and -0.5%. The committee also projects an inflation rate of 1.7-2.2% this year.

The JSCCIB is closely monitoring the depreciation of the baht. While a weaker baht may benefit exporters, it poses challenges for manufacturers purchasing foreign raw materials and for oil importers. The JSCCIB believes an acceptable baht value would be 35-36 to the US dollar.

The government’s plan to increase the daily minimum wage, among other economic issues, is slated for discussion tomorrow during the October 6 meeting between the government and the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), another member of the JSCCIB. This was confirmed by Thawee Piyapatana, senior vice-chairman of the FTI.

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