New Year spending hits high

New Year spending hits high

New Year celebrations are expected to be active this year, with spending during the festive period set to hit 117 billion baht, says an annual survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.

Thanavath Phonvichai, vice-president for research, said spending during the New Year celebrations was forecast to grow by 5.1% from a year ago, the highest figure since the survey began in 2007.

"Active spending stems largely from the government's stimulus packages, especially the 1,000-baht handout to farmers, falling oil prices and the government's seven-day campaign to cut consumer prices from Dec 24-30 as part of the government's 'New Year gifts'," he said.

Under the seven-day campaign, retailers and suppliers have agreed to cut product prices at 12,800 outlets nationwide by 10-70%.

The retailers are Tesco Lotus, Makro, Big C Supercenter, Central Department Store, Robinson Department Store, The Mall Group, Tang Hua Seng, Tops Supermarket, Foodland, MaxValu, JC Mart, 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson 108 and CP Freshmart.

The campaign is expected to help lower the total cost of living by as much as 15 billion baht.

The cabinet in October approved a 364.5-billion-baht stimulus package including a cash injection of up to 15,000 baht each for more than 3 million rice farmers nationwide.

The package is aimed at boosting the economy over the next three months.

Under one scheme, 1.8 million households, each possessing a maximum 15 rai of farmland, received a one-time payment for cultivation costs at the rate of 1,000 baht a rai.

Another 1.6 million households, each owning more than 15 rai, received a flat 15,000 baht per household.

Other stimulus measures include expediting the payment of 129 billion baht from the fiscal-2015 investment budget across all ministries.

Another 147 billion baht will be spent on projects under the fiscal-2014 budget that are slated to be implemented in the rest of this calendar year.

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