Thai government urged to hold public hearings on Bt2.2 trillion borrowing

BANGKOK, March 16 (TNA) - Thailand’s main opposition Democrat Party has urged the government to organise public hearings on its plan to borrow 2.2 trillion baht to fund its investment on new mega infrastructure development projects over the next seven years. Democrat Party Deputy Spokeswoman Mallika Boonmeetrakul told journalists on Saturday that the amount of the government's planned borrowing is much more than that borrowed when the country was hit by a financial crisis in 1997 and the amount will put Thai people to shoulder public debts of as long as 50 years. Mallika proposed that the Thai government should, therefore, organise the public hearings to listen to opinions from every sector, saying that the Democrat Party is prepared to join the public forums, if held. The opposition Democrat Party made the call, following reports that the Puea Thai Party-led coalition government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is scheduled to consider a bill allowing it to borrow the money at the Cabinet's next weekly meeting on March 19. After the bill is approved by the Cabinet, the government will be forwarded it to Parliament for debate and it is expected to go before the chamber late this month. But Payungsak Chartsuthipol, Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), opined that the upgrade of Thailand’s rating to BBB+, from BBB, by Fitch Ratings, a globally-recognized credit rating agency, on March 8 displays that international investors have gained more confidence in the Thai economy, especially when the government plans to invest in the new mega infrastructure projects. Payungsak projected that the new mega-investment would stimulate the national economy to grow by nearly 6 per cent this year, recommending, however, that the Thai government well manage risks, review law and tax regulations and further develop international trade relations to serve rising domestic investment in the future. (TNA)