The military junta running Thailand has drawn up a list of emergency measures, such as price caps on fuel and loan guarantees for small firms, to kick-start an economy threatened by recession after months of political turmoil.
The plans, outlined by Thai Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong late on Sunday after a meeting with officials at economic ministries, also includes longer-term measures, such as the development of special economic zones on the borders with Myanmar, Laos and Malaysia.
The military toppled the remnants of former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration on May 22 after months of protests that had forced government ministries to close, hurt business confidence and caused the economy to shrink.
Yingluck herself was ordered to step down two weeks before the coup when a court found her guilty of abuse of power.
Prajin, who is overseeing economic matters for the junta, said 30 urgent proposals on the economy would be discussed with coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha today and tomorrow.
Among them, Prajin mentioned a form of price insurance for rice farmers. This would replace a costly buying scheme run under Yingluck that collapsed when her caretaker government was unable to find funding, leaving hundreds of thousands of farmers unpaid for months.
The military rulers said they would also tackle the problem of loan sharks, made worse by the hardship suffered by farmers because of the rice fiasco, and are looking at low-cost home loans to be offered through the Thai Government Housing Bank.
Prajin said he had told the Thai Ministry of Finance to look at a complete overhaul of the tax structure and report to him next week.
Prayuth, in a televised address on Friday, said the military would need time to reconcile Thailand’s antagonistic political forces and push through reforms, indicating there would be no general election for about 15 months.
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