State enterprises contributed 50.6 billion baht in income to government coffers for the October-to-January period, exceeding the target by 35%, says the chief of the State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo).
State enterprises' income contribution to the government for the four months to January was 12.9 billion baht higher than the target, said director-general Ekniti Nitithanprapas.
In January, state enterprises sent 7.25 billion baht to the government, outpacing the target by 3.35 billion or 85%, he said.
The top five income-contributing state enterprises for the first four months of fiscal 2018 were the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, the Government Lottery Office, the Government Savings Bank, the Provincial Electricity Authority and GH Bank.
State enterprises have contributed more income to the government than projected in recent fiscal years thanks to their improving efficiency following the adoption of information technology and innovation.
Their income contribution has helped offset the government's budget deficit, while state enterprises' investment spree has been a driving force for the economy.
The target for fiscal 2018 revenue collection is 2.45 trillion baht, while the annual budget is 2.9 trillion, leaving a deficit of 450 billion. But the deficit will swell to 550 billion baht when an additional 100-billion borrowing plan for the supplementary budget is included.
For the 56 state enterprises, their income contribution target is 137 billion baht for fiscal 2018.
In the last fiscal year, state enterprises sent 162 billion baht to the government, outpacing the target by 24% and rising 21% from a year earlier.
During the first quarter of the 2018 fiscal year, 45 state enterprises doled out 18 billion baht in investment budget, representing 83% of the period's target. The 18-billion-baht represented 4% of this year's investment expenditure target.
State enterprises' investment budget is set at 506 billion baht for this fiscal year, up 47% from a year earlier.