Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand’s Finance Ministry has announced 14 financial measures, including debt suspension and liquidity support, to assist people and businesses affected by the ongoing floods.
Caretaker Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul said the measures address problems generated by the floods affecting people and enterprises, providing them with relief.
Paopoom said the financial assistance measures include a debt suspension programme offered by the Government Savings Bank for retail customers with a credit limit of up to 10 million THB (294,000 USD). These customers are entitled to defer principal payments and receive a 50% interest reduction for a period of three months.
Meanwhile, the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives is providing liquidity support and recovery measures for its customers, with a total budget of 20 billion THB. This includes an emergency loan programme for this year and next year, with the maximum set at 50,000 THB per borrower at the minimum retail rate (MRR) of 6.97% per year currently. The loan term is up to three years, with a six-month interest-free period.
Another programme offers rehabilitation and quality-of-life improvement loans, with a maximum of 500,000 THB per borrower at an MRR of 2% per year, with a loan term of up to 15 years.
In addition, the Government Housing Bank is offering a reduction in monthly instalments and interest rates for existing customers, who will receive a 50% reduction in monthly payments from the regular amount and an interest rate reduction to 2% per year for a period of six months.
Debt restructuring measures are also available for customers who missed payments for more than three consecutive months, or are undergoing debt restructuring. These customers are exempt from interest and instalment payments for the first six months in the case of death or a permanent disability.
The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand is also offering a capital replenishment loan for repairs, construction, or business rehabilitation through its Smile Biz programme, with a maximum loan amount of 5 million THB per borrower at a minimum loan rate of 1% per year. The regular rate is 7.5% per year. The loan term is up to seven years, with a six-month principal repayment suspension./.
