Finance minister willing to accept opposition's stimulus measures

BANGKOK, March 7 (TNA) – Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee on Friday expressed his willingness to accept the economic stimulus approaches proposed by the single opposition Democrat Party, saying he believed the packages initiated by the government and opposition could be well-integrated to boost the economy.

He said he welcomed the Democrat's shadown finance minister Korn Chatikavanich's move to propose economic stimulus measures because the government wanted to see reconciliation among all parties so that they could jointly drive ahead the country in a constructive manner.
Dr. Surapong said he had monitored the proposed measures through mass media channels and found that many are in harmony with those of the government.

Previously, the government had come up with tax measures to promote investment and reduce the cost of living.

He said that other stimulus measures to be announced during this month to help boost the grass-roots economy include the village fund, the small-, medium-, and large-scale (SML) enterprise fund, and a debt moratorium for farmers.

These measures, if implemented, would help create new jobs for residents in localities and would stimulate the economy in local communities.

He added he had monitored possible repercussions from the end of capital controls end during the first four days after the measure was lifted and found it had not caused panic as many worried.

The baht had fluctuated so slightly and no foreign capital had flowed into the country for speculation on the currency following the lifting of the measure, he said, adding that it resulted partly from the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Thailand's proper contingency measures to rein in the currency volatility. (TNA)-E005

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