"Somkid" is still quietly hoping to maintain this year's export growth at 7%, which would help push the GDP for 2018 to reach 4%. He urged all sectors to work diligently and pressed state enterprises to invest without using the elections as an excuse. Meanwhile, the "Finance Minister" promised to transform LTF to support the middle class in saving money.

          On November 22, 2018, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak revealed after chairing a meeting to monitor and expedite the disbursement of state enterprise investment budgets that the Thai economy in the third quarter of 2018 grew by 3.3%, which is not serious and is attributed to export issues in September. However, considering consumption and investment, they are still growing well. In the final quarter of the year, all parties must work at full capacity, and the public and state enterprise investment budgets must not be delayed. From the monitoring meeting, it was found that disbursement is progressing reasonably well, and results will be reviewed again in December.

          The export growth in October, announced by the Ministry of Commerce at 8.7%, still has a chance in the remaining two months. If exports can be maintained at no less than 7%, it will allow the Thai economy in the fourth quarter of 2018 to grow more than 3.5%, resulting in an annual economic growth of no less than 4%. Exports cannot be allowed to slow down as they account for over 70% of GDP growth. Therefore, the Ministry of Commerce must not lose heart and must accelerate finding other markets, especially for products that have seen significant declines in exports, such as electronics and computer parts, which are sent to China and then forwarded to the United States, causing adverse effects.

          "Keep fighting, even though we are approaching elections. The current government must work diligently. Investments must meet targets, tourism must be accelerated to recover, and public disbursements must be continuous. Exports must also be increased. We need to ensure that the annual economy stands above 4% for the benefit of foreign confidence," said Mr. Somkid.

          Mr. Somkid stated that regarding state enterprise investments, he wants future opportunities to be considered and proposed to the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) for investment planning. He instructed the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport to jointly consider which future projects should be undertaken. Other state enterprises, such as Thailand Post, also have high growth potential from e-commerce. If they work diligently, they will capture a market share in logistics, which will increase the organization's revenue.

          Mr. Somkid mentioned that for measures to increase funds for welfare cardholders and increase assistance for the elderly, he confirmed that it would not affect the fiscal position as the treasury is cautious. The funds used come from the People's Fund and are not related to other budgets. These measures are not economic stimulus but have been considered by relevant agencies for a long time. When the time comes, they must be submitted for Cabinet approval as measures. The government is also considering measures for the middle class, having previously supported startup loans through state banks.

          Additionally, he has instructed the Finance Minister to study measures to reduce taxes on investments in Long-Term Equity Funds (LTF), which are set to expire in 2019. If there is an extension, how to transform the measures for continuation must be explained clearly to the public that this is not a measure to assist high-income individuals but to support the middle class who are in the process of building their wealth. If the government wants to encourage savings, there must be incentives to save, which the Finance Minister has already promised to oversee.

Thank you for the information from www.thaipost.net