Thailand

No amount/estimate: (i) The policy rate was reduced by 50 basis points (bps) from 1.25% to 0.75% during the first quarter of 2020 and by another 25 bps on 20 May 2020 to a record low 0.5%; (ii) 19 June 2020, BOT introduced additional debt relief measures including 2-4 pps interest rate cuts for credit cards (from 18% to 16%) and personal loans (from 28% to 24-25%) effective 1 August 2020; lenders must urgently help borrowers with debt restructuring such as extending payment periods and reducing interest rates. BOT will raise credit lines for credit cards and personal loans for good debtors from August to December 2020.

No amount/estimate: (i) The contribution from financial institutions to the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) was reduced from 0.46% to 0.23% of the deposit base to provide space for a decrease in lending rates; (ii) Financial sector liquidity-related regulations were temporarily relaxed in order to support Measure 1B; (iii) 19 June 2020, BOT asked commercial banks to prepare capital management plans for the next 1-3 years and to not pay interim dividends in 2020 or buy back shares to preserve capital. (iv) 27 August 2020, The BOT announced measures to help adversely affected retail debtors, including "debt consolidation" to enable financial institutions to reduce interest rates and extend repayment periods where possible. (v) 28 December 2020, The BOT announced several regulatory relief measures: (a) adjusted the definition of "business group" which determines accesss to SME lending; (b) relaxed criteria for soft-loan applications and included companies with securities listed in the alternative stock market for SMEs; and (c) extended the application period for soft loans by 6 months. [update]

See also tax deferrals in a(iii) in Measure 5C.

(iii) May 5, The government approved a 20% discount on water bills to private consumers until the end of June. (iv) No amount/estimate: June 2, The Cabinet approved a 90% reduction in land and building taxes for the year and a 2-month postponement in the deadline for filing personal income tax returns. See also (iii) in Measure 5C.

No amount/estimate: 7 October 2020, The Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TIS) announced the waiver of the TIS license fee and ISO certification fee to assist entrepreneurs affected by the the economic slowdown from COVID-19. See also (iii) in Measure 5C.

(i) The government covers the first 6 months of interest and guarantees up to 60%–70% of the THB500 billion loan as part of the THB350 billion that the government will cover (See Measure 2: Loan guarantees); (ii) Reduction of interest on the debts to SFIs; (v) 16 June 2020, THB22.4 billion domestic tourism package approved by the Cabinet including subsidies for tourism service providers, domestic tourists and health officials for July to October 2020. See also (ii) to (iv) in Measure 5C.

9 September 2020, Authorities are developing new projects worth THB30 billion to support its farm sector and create rural jobs. See also (ii) to (iv) in Measure 5C.

16 June 2020, THB22.4 billion domestic tourism package approved by the Cabinet including subsidies for tourism service providers, domestic tourists and health officials for July to October 2020.

(i) 8 April 2020, USD500,000 grant under TA: Regional Support to Address the Outbreak of COVID-19; (ii) 24 April 2020, USD750,000 grant under TA: Policy Advice for COVID-19 Economic Recovery in Southeast Asia. (iii) 26 June 2020, USD1.5 billion COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program loan. (iv) 6 October 2020, USD20,000 grant under ADB's TA on Capacity Development for the Supply Chain Finance Program (Phase 2) (Subproject 3). (v) 5 November 2020, USD90,000 grant under the TA on Creating Investable Cities in Post-COVID-19 Asia-Pacific: Enhancing Competitiveness and Resilience through Quality Infrastructure.

USD6.5 million in grants for health and humanitarian assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for health and humanitarian assistance in 2020.