Thailand approves budget for 2023 fiscal year

Thailand's cabinet on January 4 approved a 3.185 trillion THB (95.5 billion USD) budget for the 2023 fiscal year, up 2.74 percent, or 85 billion THB, from that of the previous year.

People wearing face masks shop for street food in Bangkok. (Photo: Reuters)
People wearing face masks shop for street food in Bangkok. (Photo: Reuters)

Thailand's 2023 fiscal year begins in October 2022 and ends in September 2023.

According to spokesman of the Thai Government Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, of the total, the regular budget tallied 2.39 trillion THB, an annual increase of 0.72 percent and accounting for 75 percent of the total budget.

The investment budget is set at 695 billion THB, increasing 13.8 percent on-year. Net state revenue is projected at 2.49 trillion THB, up 3.8 percent annually, while the planned deficit is 5 billion THB, or 0.71 percent lower than in fiscal 2022.

Thanakorn said the fiscal 2023 budget deficit is in line with the government's medium-term fiscal policy framework for 2023-26, which was approved by the cabinet on December 21. The budget deficit plan assumes economic growth of 3.2-4.7 percent in fiscal 2023, with an inflation rate of 1-3 percent.