COVID-19: Thailand’s new economic package to be worth 10 percent of GDP hinh anh 1Measuring body temperature in Bangkok, Thailand (Source: AFP/VNA)

Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s new economic package to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be worth about 10 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has said.

Deputy PM Somkid stated that the package will cover all economic sectors for at least the next six months.

If possible, final approval will be sought from the cabinet on April 7, he added.

He did not give a specific value for the package, but the GDP of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy last year was 16.88 trillion baht (512.76 billion USD). The measures will be partly financed by the fiscal budget and borrowing, he said.

The latest package follows last month’s two sets of stimulus measures together worth more than 500 billion baht.

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) expects the country’s economy to contract 5.3 percent this year, the worst since the 1998 Asian financial crisis./.
VNA