Thai Opposition Party Plans $15 Billion Digital Tokens to ‘Resuscitate’ Economy

Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Thomas Kutty Abraham
Updated ·3 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s main opposition party will hand out about 500 billion baht ($15 billion) in cash if it wins next month’s election to “resuscitate” the nation’s struggling economy and provide relief to those battling “neck-deep debt,” a party official said.

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A Pheu Thai-led government will distribute 10,000 baht each to about 55 million citizens who are 16 years and above within months of it coming to power, said Prommin Lertsuridej, who heads the party’s economic policy committee. The money will be disbursed using digital wallets built on blockchain technology that can be spent on goods and services in one’s neighborhood, he said.

The party, commanding a wide lead in opinion polls ahead of the May 14 vote, is also promising a steep increase in minimum wages, steps to triple farm income and a minimum monthly household income guarantee. Pheu Thai is deploying a playbook of populist policies that helped parties linked to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra emerge as the single largest party in parliament in every election in the past two decades.

Pheu Thai will aim to form a government of its own first and if it falls short of the numbers, it will join hands with other democratic parties that will agree to its policies, Prommin said in an interview. All the pre-election pledges are meant to alleviate the economic hardship faced by voters and to bolster income-generating activities that can once again place Thailand as an economic powerhouse in the region, he said.

With Thais battling near-record household debt and the economy growing at the slowest pace in the region, all the major parties are pledging freebies such as cash and debt suspension to woo voters, raising concerns such measures may widen state debt and further fuel inflation. Pledges from top nine parties, before Pheu Thai announced the digital cash scheme, already will require about 3.14 trillion baht, according to Thailand Development Research Institute.

Likening the Thai economy to a patient in the intensive care unit, Prommin said the the digital wallets will provide the necessary initial revival. “You have zero pulse and we have to resuscitate your heart with a shock. We have to use a strong measure,” he said.

The fund for the digital wallet will come from a mix of additional government revenue of 260 billion baht, 100 billion baht from tax collection, freeing up another 100 billion from redundant budget allocation and the rest from prime minister’s discretionary fund, Prommin said. The money can be spent by families on farming, daily expenses, or as investment in other businesses to generate income within a six-month period, he said.

“Our country has been economically bruised over the last eight years, with less income and more expenses for the people,” Srettha Thavisin, who is one of the party’s three prime ministerial candidates, told reporters. “The current government has been feeding IV drips with small money handouts. That’s not the right way and doesn’t stimulate the appropriate and right economic growth.”

Pheu Thai will also confer land titles to an estimated 50 million rai (8 million hectares) of agricultural land on farmers, who can then use the deeds as collateral to access capital from financial institutions, Prommin said.

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