2020 budget poised to sail through House

2020 budget poised to sail through House

Parties not expected to oppose bill

Construction on Ram Intra Road for the MRT Pink Line from Khae Rai to Min Buri. Mega-infrastructure development projects will continue once the fiscal 2020 budget bill is approved, says Mr Kobsak. VARUTH HINRUNYATHEB
Construction on Ram Intra Road for the MRT Pink Line from Khae Rai to Min Buri. Mega-infrastructure development projects will continue once the fiscal 2020 budget bill is approved, says Mr Kobsak. VARUTH HINRUNYATHEB

The fiscal 2020 budget bill is expected to receive parliamentary approval early next year as the coalition government has sufficient votes from lawmakers to pass the bill, says Kobsak Pootrakool, the Prime Minister's Office Minister.

"I am confident the government will be able to pass the bill in late January or February with a majority, even without assistance from the opposition," said Mr Kobsak.

"We believe parties will not obstruct [the bill passage] because it is beneficial for the country and helps drive the economy forward."

The fiscal 2020 budget, worth 3.2 trillion baht, passed the first of three readings on Oct 19 in the House of Representatives after three days of intense debate.

Of the 486 MPs present, 251 voted in favour, 234 abstained and one did not cast a vote.

The 16-party coalition government has a thin majority in the 500-member House of Representatives.

The 2020 fiscal year began on Oct 1, but the second and third readings of the budget bill will not be held until Jan 8 and 9. The second reading will discuss the bill by section and the third will determine whether the bill will be passed in its entirety.

If the bill is turned down in the third reading, it will be scrapped and according to tradition, the government must respond by resigning and dissolving the House.

Next year's GDP growth should expand at a higher rate because the fiscal 2020 budget can be disbursed after the bill's passage, said Mr Kobsak.

The government can continue funding mega-infrastructure development projects once the bill is approved, he said.

Year-on-year GDP growth for the final quarter is anticipated at 2.8%, making full-year growth 2.6% in 2019, said Mr Kobsak.

Although some companies are still reeling from repercussions of the US-China trade war, positive tourism growth has signalled an economic recovery, with exports anticipated to rebound this quarter from continued contractions, he said.

Thailand's economic slowdown is believed to have bottomed out in the third quarter, as SET-listed firms saw the least impact from the trade war, said Mr Kobsak.

The economy rose 2.4% year-on-year in the third quarter, driven mainly by increases in private and government consumption and investment, slightly improving from 2.3% in the second quarter, but lower than 2.8% in the first quarter.

For Thailand's stock market, there are still cases of share manipulation and major players taking advantage of retail investors through panic sales of stocks despite supervision by the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said Mr Kobsak.

Major players influencing stock market movement is an obstacle for investor base expansion in the Thai bourse, he said.

"The SET has been operating for more than 30 years, but the investor base is made up of only 1.7 million accounts, with active trading from 300,000 accounts," said Mr Kobsak.

SEC secretary-general Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol said the SEC's board of directors will meet tomorrow to consider approving a startup funding centre.

Providing greater fundraising access through capital market mechanisms for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises is also on the agenda for tomorrow's deliberation, said Ms Ruenvadee.

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