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7% VAT for 2 more years;
farm debts on hold 3 years
In a bid to curtail rising inflation, Thailand’s Finance Ministry will
propose to the cabinet a plan to maintain the current rate of value-added
tax (VAT) at seven per cent for another two years and to provide a
three-year debt suspension program for farmers whose debts do not exceed
Bt100,000 each.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee said after
meeting board members of the ministry’s Bank for Agriculture and
Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) last Friday that the Revenue Department had
submitted economic stimulus measures including keeping VAT at the same level
for at least two more years and possibly look to a rise after that.
Surapong also said that the debt suspension program for small-time farmers
was necessary because about 330,000 borrowers, or 15 per cent of the total
farm-based debtors, would then be able to finally settle their debts. These
NPL farming borrowers now have debts totaling approximately Bt18 billion,
still about three times lower than the total NPLs in 2001.
The BAAC may also lower interest rates charged on the remaining 85 per cent
or about 1.7 million indebted farmers by about 3 per cent annually, said
Surapong. Details could be furnished within two weeks and the reprieve could
start around late March or early April, he said. (TNA)
World Bank advisor visits
Lampang’s OTOP scheme
Increase in range of products,
more aggressive marketing advised
Staff reporter
Dr. John Eriksson, an advisor to the World Bank, paid a recent visit to
Lampang in order to provide advice on maximising the income generated from the
“One Tambon, One Product” scheme at present running in the province. A meeting
was held on February 11 at Lampang City Hall between Dr. Eriksson and members of
the Lampang Economic Development Working Committee of the Joint Public and
Private Sectors’ Consultative Committee.
At the meeting, Dr. Eriksson stated that he was pleased to see development in
many areas in Thailand, and was appreciative that the Kingdom had begun to offer
assistance to underdeveloped countries in spite of its economic slowdown. He
advised the OTOP scheme organisers to consider either splitting into separate
sectors, or to add more products to the range at present available in order to
increase its income potential and competitive impact. He also suggested that
private sector involvement in marketing strategies and a more aggressive
approach to connecting with the industrial sector would help the scheme to
maximise its potential.
The Deputy Governor of Lampang, Chai Phanichphornphan stated that Lampang is
continually promoting the OTOP scheme to the extent that at least some of the
products have now reached international markets. These include wood carvings and
silk embroideries. Plans are in place to promote more planting of Arabica coffee
bushes, already being cultivated in the Tambon Jae-Sorn area, and also to
harvest macadamia nuts for export. Both products will be included in the OTOP
scheme.
The meeting also discussed global warming, and was informed that Lampang is
already promoting organic farming methods and planting trees for the production
of rubber. These trees will increase green areas and also increase the income of
the growers.
Japanese, Indian investors ready to return to Thailand
Major Japanese and Indian investors are now prepared to
resume their investments in Thailand, Suwit Khunkitti, deputy prime minister
and industry minister said last week.
His remarks last Friday were made after Hiroshi Shimozuma, chairman of the
Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren) of Japan, asked him earlier in the
day about the Thai government’s investment policy for 2008 and 2009, as
Japanese private investors wanted to invest more in Thailand.
Cooperation in the fields of trade and investment between the two countries
would grow significantly thanks to the implementation of the Japan-Thailand
Economic Partnership Agreement (JTEPA), he said.
Mr. Suwit also said his ministry would direct the Board of Investment to
cooperate with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Bangkok-based Japan
External Trade Organization (JETRO) to help solve problems for Japanese
investors in Thailand.
Japanese investors are keen on investing in steel, vehicles and the vehicle
spare parts industries in Thailand, he said.
In another meeting with Subramanium Ramadorai, CEO and managing director of
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., a major manufacturer of auto and steel in
India, Mr. Suwit said the company was interested in investing in the steel,
auto and information technology businesses in Thailand.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej told a press conference that the
Japanese ambassador to Thailand, Hideaki Kobayashi, and Kankeiren chairman
Shimozuma had had a meeting with him also on Friday.
Mr. Samak reported that Japan’s ambassador had told him that the Tokyo
government is prepared to provide a loan at 1.4 per cent interest for the
elevated train running from Bang Yai in Nonthaburi province, passing through
Bang Sue to Ratchaburana in the city’s Thonburi side. (TNA)
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