The Pheu Thai party-led government is looking to implement utility tokens to boost its digital wallet program, pending approval from the Bank of Thailand. The bank currently prohibits using tokens as payment. According to financial services company Asia Plus Securities (ASPS), the government may issue 10,000 baht value utility tokens to Thai citizens 16 and older, which could require a 560 billion baht budget.
The Finance Ministry and Securities Exchange Commission are in discussions about issuing these tokens and identifying funding sources, per the brokerage.
ASPS noted the government intends the tokens for consumer purchases, not trading on digital asset platforms.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the digital wallets are slated to launch early next year. The utility tokens will have stipulations like only being usable to buy consumer goods within 4 km of the recipient’s home.
ASPS cited a Thailand Development Research Institute study indicating the budget could come from 260 billion baht increased 2024 fiscal income and 100 billion baht more tax revenue from economic stimuli.
However, ASPS VP Therdsak Thaveeteeratham raised concerns about using the government budget given high public debt. He also questioned if stimuli would certainly increase taxes amid economic uncertainty.
ASPS suggested the government may need to borrow to finance the project. Thailand’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 61.2% in June 2023. The legal limit is 70%, allowing 1.58 trillion baht more borrowing based on a 17.9 trillion GDP.
But ASPS emphasized loans should not reach the limit. They said monitoring is needed to see if the wallet scheme is effective long-term and when it will occur. Short term, the economy should recover due to existing supporting factors.
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