The Prime Minister has ordered the launch of the “Thai Help Thai: Capital Increase, Half Interest” project, allocating 4.452 billion baht through village funds, with the government covering 50% of interest payments. He expressed that he cannot tolerate seeing citizens borrowing from informal sources and said, “I want to sign off on additional funding so much it breaks my heart.”Tags: [government funding, village funds, informal debt, interest subsidy, Prime Minister]
On 10 August 2026 at the Government House, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul presided over the opening of the “Thai Help Thai: Capital Increase, Half Interest” project. Ms. Suksamruay Wantanayakul, Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office and Chairperson of the National Village and Urban Community Fund Committee, also attended. Prime Minister Anutin stated that restoring the grassroots economy is a top government priority. Therefore, the Village Fund Office has allocated 4.452 billion baht to 79,610 village funds, urban community funds, and military community funds to enhance liquidity and provide working capital for people’s livelihoods.Tags: [Prime Minister, village funds, grassroots economy, government budget, project launch]
Prime Minister Anutin added that this project is an urgent policy to promote access to formal credit, so people do not have to rely on informal loans with exorbitant interest rates. He cannot bear the situation where citizens lose their farmland, homes, and assets. He has authorized Ms. Suksamruay to carry out the program fully. He emphasized not to underestimate the village fund money, as it has previously helped create famous folk performers. If the business principles are grasped, it can be an opportunity to generate income without being trapped in debt bondage. “I want to sign off on additional funding so much it breaks my heart. Let us all work together to make this successful.”Tags: [Prime Minister, informal debt, village funds, economic opportunity, project authorization]
The Prime Minister further explained the approach to stabilizing grassroots financial systems, noting that the Village Fund Office is currently working to connect with insurance companies to provide some risk coverage. If insurance companies can assume part of this risk, the businesses run by citizens will have better chances to survive and grow.Tags: [financial stability, village funds, insurance, risk management, grassroots economy]
“Suksamruay” revealed that in fiscal year 2027, the budget was only 160 million baht. To proceed further, an additional approval of 4,000–5,000 million baht is needed.Tags: [budget, village funds, government funding, fiscal year, project expansion]
Ms. Suksamruay Wantanayakul stated that this project will benefit over 12 million members. Funds requesting support must be registered as legal entities, have submitted financial statements continuously for at least two years (since 2013), and have resolutions to reduce loan interest for members in account 1 by 50%. If these criteria are not met, additional capital can be reclaimed immediately. However, since the Prime Minister is committed to helping reduce citizens’ expenses and supports ongoing projects, additional budget allocation will be necessary to continue in 2027 because the ministry has received only 160 million baht, insufficient for such a large-scale project.Tags: [project criteria, village fund members, budget needs, legal entities, interest reduction]
Ms. Suksamruay concluded that specifically for the half-interest project next year, a budget of about 4,000–5,000 million baht will be required. If combined with capital increases for the strong “dark green” village funds—which are robust and highly capable—an approval request for about 25,000 million baht must be submitted to the Prime Minister. Additionally, there is a backlog of 3,400 million baht in old budget funds planned to be injected as one million baht each into 3,400 village and urban community funds. These funds have faced issues and have been inactive for 14 years, since 2012, to accelerate cash flow into the system and concretely stimulate village-level economic activity.Tags: [budget proposal, village funds, economic stimulus, capital injection, government funding backlog]
