The Government Pension Fund (GPF) reaffirmed on Monday that it has no plans to buy bonds offered by the Finance Ministry to raise funds to pay struggling farmers who have yet to receive payment for grain they delivered months ago to mills under the government's bankrupt rice pledging scheme.
GPF secretary-general Sombat Narawuthicha said the organisation has not even been invited to participate by by the caretaker government and has no plans to do so.
It was earlier reported that the Finance Ministry hoped to sell bonds to the GPF, the Social Security Office and the Government Lottery Office to help raise the 130 billion baht needed to meet payments to farmers registered under the Pheu Thai-led rice pledging scheme.
Mr Sombat said the GPF is not one of the Finance Ministry’s target buyers because it has limited liquidity. The fund receives only around one billion baht monthly from its members, 200-800 baht from each member.
He said before the GPF invest in the caretaker administration’s bonds it would have to confirm that they are legitimate and thoroughly examine all details, which it has not even seen yet.
The fund has to be extra cautious when considering the bonds because the rice pledging scheme is being heavily criticised, he added.
The GPF would maintain its fund management policy of 75% invested domestically and the rest internationally.