BANGKOK: Earlier this week, Thailand’s cabinet approved a 176 billion baht (S$6.89 billion) support package to help households and businesses deal with the rising cost of living amid the current energy crisis.

The conflict in the Middle East, which began on Feb 28 when the United States and Israel started bombing Iran, resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, an important chokepoint for 20% of the supply of oil and gas across the globe. Since a significant portion of this supply was bound for Asia, countries in the region have suffered disproportionately, with governments scrambling to obtain sufficient supply for domestic use amid higher prices.

Thailand’s support package is called the “Thai Help Thai Plus,” and is meant to help low-income citizens with direct financial support during this “second wave” of the worldwide energy emergency. The programme also includes a “co-payment” subsidy component where the government pays part of people’s daily purchases.

The first was the energy crisis, followed by the “crisis” of higher prices, as Thailand’s inflation rate grew to 2.9% last month, and is believed to may even reach 5%.

The country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Ekniti Nitithanprapas, said that the programme is intended to prevent public purchasing power from shrinking.

Registration for the “Thai Help Thai Plus” will be from May 25 to 29 via Krungthai Bank Public Company Limited, through the Paotang digital-wallet app.

More than 43 million people are expected to benefit from the programme. From June to September, 13.2 million holders of state welfare cards will receive 1,000 baht (S$39.20) each month for buying consumer goods in the first part of the programme, said Thailand’s  Permanent Secretary for Finance, Lavaron Sangsnit.

For the co-payment portion, the government pays 60% of purchases, and citizens pay the remaining 40%, up to 200 baht (S$7.84) per day, with a monthly cap of 1,000 baht per month through the same four-month period from June to September, as the government endeavours to stimulate consumer spending. /TISG

Read also: Thailand’s drop in tourism tied to disruptions due to Middle East war, arrivals from the Gulf region near zero in March

This article (Thailand to release S$6.89 billion package to help ease living-cost pressures amid energy crisis) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.