Resolutions of the subcommittee in regards to Thailand’s digital wallet scheme was postponed yesterday as they failed to clear several unanswered questions regarding the handout policy.
The meeting is expected to return on 24 October before proposing the decision to the cabinet on the next day.
The unclear progress of the digital wallet continues to weigh on the domestic bond yields and Thai stock market, especially Domestic Plays that are waiting for the scheme to be finalized and become laws.
The Deputy Finance Minister Krisada Chinavicharana said on Friday at the ministry’s forum that Thailand’s economy continues to recover but faces risks of a global slowdown, global monetary policy tightening and geopolitics.
Talks in the market are pointing to the government delaying the rollout of its THB 10,000-handout scheme further from February 1, but still within the first quarter of next year or April at the latest.
The whole scheme is expected to reach 50 million people with the usage of 560 billion baht of injection.
Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said that the government needed more time to work on the measure, while adding that the committee was still open to suggestions from all parties.
He also noted that the starting date on February 1 is a bit tight.
The government led by new Prime Minister Sretta Thavisin estimated that the scheme will help boost Thailand’s economy next year to achieve his goal of 5% growth.
Domestic Plays such as CP All Public Company Limited (SET: CPALL), CP Axtra Public Company Limited (SET: CPAXT), Berli Jucker Public Company Limited (SET: BJC), Ichitan Group Public Company Limited (SET: ICHI) and even Srisawad Corporation Public Company Limited (SET: SAWAD) were seen as the main beneficiaries of this scheme. However, due to the volatility in the global stock markets and also the lack of domestic drivers, the price of these stocks continued to decline.
