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Thai PM: reserve bank should cut rates by at least 25 bps

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told the reserve bank must cut its key rates of interest by at least a quarter point this week as the federal government advances with a flagship handout plan worth 500 billion baht ($ 13.6 billion) to restore Southeast Asia's. secondlargest economy, which lags the area.

The digital wallet program will be rolled out in the. final quarter of the year however will not be funded by a loan. expense, Srettha said on Sunday, adding that the funding sources. will be settled at a conference on Wednesday, the same day as the. reserve bank's financial policy conference.

The reserve bank has so far resisted federal government pressure to. ease policy, holding the crucial rates of interest. unchanged at 2.50% in February, the greatest in more than a. decade, in a split vote. Some economists anticipate a rate cut on. Wednesday.

Srettha stated the economy may have broadened less than 1% in. the first quarter of 2024, following the yearly 1.7% growth in. the previous three months.

He also said the federal government plans to improve tourist, by. hosting multiple large-scale occasions and creating tax incentives. to attract more tourist numbers and dollars, targeting 2025 as. the biggest year for Thai tourist.

Srettha also said the federal government is exploring using. nuclear power for electrical energy generation in the long-term as. part of a plan to diversify to clean energy sources and draw in. investment.

(source: Reuters)