Flood costs are enormous
The massive floods will reduce economic growth by 1 to 1,7 percentage points, according to the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) and the Bank of Thailand.
The forecast has been reduced by NESDB from 3,8 to 2,1 percent. “The impact might be larger than this if the situation is beyond our control for a long time but if it is under control and restoration is fast, the impact could be restricted at this level,” said Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala.
The government intends to borrow money abroad to finance flood prevention projects. The current budget is not sufficient for long-term investments. "We cannot allow this country to go through these problems again, thus we need to borrow from overseas," said Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong, who did not name a specific amount, but a "source" said it was around $500 billion. baht goes. Kittiratt chaired a meeting of concerned ministries yesterday.
The Ministry of Finance will ask the cabinet to increase the budget deficit by 50 billion baht to finance recovery work. The budget for this will then be 130 billion baht.
NESDB Secretary General Arkhom Termpittayapaisith says the damage to Ayutthaya's industrial estates is 120 billion baht and 40 billion baht to the agricultural sector. He estimates the loss of income at 350 billion baht.
Prasarn Trairatvorakul, governor of the Bank of Thailand, has raised his earlier damage estimate of 100 billion baht, but he did not specify an exact amount. According to him, the crisis has not had a significant effect on the banking sector. The debt of the companies in the five flood-affected industrial estates amounts to 60 billion baht, or 0,75 percent of the total loans. The central bank has asked commercial banks to help affected companies by extending repayment terms.
The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee will meet on Wednesday. It is expected to leave interest rates unchanged.
Does all this also influence the course of Vd bath in the future, now that we are calculating?
I haven't read anything about that yet.
The funds for the purchase of submarines and other useless toys can be put to better use here. But yeah …..