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Thailand adds 11.3 billion USD to assist pandemic-affected enterprises

The Thai Cabinet on March 24 approved financial support measures worth a total of 350 billion Baht (11.3 billion USD) to assist businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thailand adds 11.3 billion USD to assist pandemic-affected enterprises ảnh 1Pedestrians walk along a near empty Khaosan Road in Bangkok (Photo: Bloomberg)
Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai Cabinet on March 24 approved financialsupport measures worth a total of 350 billion Baht (11.3 billion USD) to assistbusinesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, the measures include a plan to provide 250billion baht of soft loans for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and a100-billion-baht programme called “Asset Warehousing” to support debtors whoare unable to repay their loans.

The steps to channel more credit to business came a dayahead of a central bank rate decision, with the Bank of Thailand expected tohold its benchmark rate at a record low of 0.5 percent for a seventh straightmeeting. The central bank sees tourism, which accounted for about one-fifth ofgross domestic product pre-pandemic, as key to returning the economy to growthafter it shrank by 6.1 percent last year.

The economy is expected to return to pre-coronaviruspandemic levels in the third quarter of next year, with the recovery slow anduneven as tourism remains sluggish.

The tourism-reliant economy could take at least four to fiveyears to see the number of foreign tourists return to normal levels, of about40 million a year, said central bank Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput./.
VNA
#COVID-19#Thai Cabinet#financial support measures#350 billion Baht#pandemic-affected enterprises#Vietnam#Vietnamplus#Vietnam News Agency
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