PUBLISHED: 13 Apr 2024 at 06: 05
Following news that the government plans to borrow 172.3 billion baht from the bank to partially finance its 500 billion baht digital wallet handout scheme, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin refuted rumors that people had started withdrawing money from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives ( BAAC ).
He claimed on Friday that the allegations of a bankrupted were false, and that the BAAC had previously released a speech confirming its economic stability.
Mr. Srettha added that the government would maintain transparency and become subject to scrutiny before proceeding with the loans program. He also emphasized that the state would pursue the Council of State’s opinion before proceeding with it.
The BAAC stated in its statement that it is a state-run banks that aims to assist farmers and cooperatives in accordance with the BAAC rules. It has participated in a number of government initiatives and properly managed its liquidity.
The lender is coordinating the details of the digital wallet handbook to ensure that it is implemented within the constitutional model and with appropriate risk management procedures in place. According to the BAAC, it is another government program to aid producers.
The authorities announced earlier this week that the electric pocket plan would be funded by three sources of funding, fueling the rumors about cash withdrawals and the BAAC’s statement.
They were 172.3 billion ringgit to been borrowed from the BAAC, 175 billion ringgit from the redistribution of the funds in the current fiscal year, and 152.7 billion ringgit from the funds for the 2025 fiscal year.
The money from the BAAC would be used to pay back 17.23 million producers in accordance with Section 28 of the State Fiscal and Financial Disciplines Act.
In addition, government official Chai Watcharonke on Friday criticized the launch of a picture in which assistant director of the BAAC Paisarn Hongthong appeared to object to the saving schedule due to concerns about the company’s cash.
He claimed that Mr. Paisarn and his team spoke with one another for clarification and that the interview in the clip occurred about a week before the Wednesday announcement for the digital wallet.
At that time, Mr Paisarn was asked about the 500 billion baht earmarked for the entire scheme, so his answer appeared to be about the bank’s liquidity.