BANGKOK, Jun 3 (NNN-TNA) – Thailand’s House of Representatives, yesterday, approved in principle a 3.1 trillion baht (about 99.7 billion U.S. dollars) budget bill, for the 2022 fiscal year.
Following a three-day debate, government MPs cast 269 votes against 201 votes cast by opposition MPs, to pass the first reading of the 2022 budget bill.
Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, said during the House meeting that, the budget for 2022, starting Oct 1, will help Thailand overcome economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prayut forecast Thailand’s economy will grow 2.5 to 3.5 percent throughout this year, largely due to uptrends in economic recovery, increased volumes in world trading businesses, and the effective distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the world’s major economic countries.
He also predicted the Thai economy will grow 4.0 to 5.0 percent in 2022, given such favourable economic factors and a return of foreign tourists.
The budget bill is required to pass another two rounds of reading in parliament, which are expected to be conducted in Aug.– NNN-TNA
