People shop at a food trolley in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo by Reuters
Thailand will extend its consumer subsidy program using 40 billion baht (US$1.20 billion) remaining from the first phase, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Friday.
The first phase covered about 43 million people and ran from June to September, with participants receiving 1,000 baht (US$30.04) per month.
The government subsidized 60% of eligible purchases, capped at 200 baht per person per day.
The extension, subject to cabinet approval, is aimed at helping ease living costs.
“This is not a populist policy. It is both an economic stimulus policy and a measure to ease people’s expenses across the country at a time of high living costs,” Anutin said.
The extension will last two months, a government spokesperson said.