Minister Suksamruay is pushing the capital increase and interest reduction project at full speed, affirming it enhances liquidity and successfully frees people from informal debt.
On 14 Aug 2026 GMT+7, Minister Suksamruay Wantaneeyakul, Minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, revealed that the government, led by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, is advancing the “Thai Help Thai: Capital Increase, Half Interest” project with over 4.452 billion baht funding, halving village fund loan interest to help more than 12 million members nationwide fully access capital.
She ordered the National Village and Urban Community Fund Office (NVUCFO) to urgently encourage village funds nationwide to join the project to quickly reduce members’ interest burdens. Given the tough economic situation, grassroots people need liquidity to earn a living and increase income. Village funds provide grassroots revolving capital to lower interest burdens and serve as a key mechanism to solve informal debt problems.
Minister Suksamruay added that for the 2027 fiscal year, she prioritizes reviving village funds that have not received capital increases since 2012, using about 3.4 billion baht of pending budget to restore operations. Officials have been assigned to provide hands-on assistance from legal entity registration to electing new committees.
“I want to see village funds that have not passed assessments regain status and for members to have financial discipline, which will help them escape high-cost informal debts,” Minister Suksamruay said.
Meanwhile, Ms. Saiyut Yotklang, chairwoman of the Village Fund Network in Khlong Sam Wa District and chair of Community Village 3, Sam Wa East Subdistrict, Bangkok, expressed support for the government’s “Thai Help Thai: Capital Increase, Half Interest” project. She said village funds truly help members break free from informal debt cycles. Village Fund 3 started with savings from 50 households, each contributing 100 baht, then received allocations from the village and urban community funds and began lending members starting at 30,000 baht with a fixed 6% annual interest rate, much lower than informal rates.
Currently, the fund has about 2 million baht in revolving capital in Account 1 and about 4 million baht in Account 2. A key success is that members have no informal debt, using clear collateral systems such as land titles or gold and considering repayment discipline. The fund also mentors struggling village funds nearby, helping them successfully resume operations.
“Before, villagers were very poor and lacked access to funds, forced to rely on informal loans. Now, fund members no longer need informal loans. The fund committee helps everyone but emphasizes honesty and creating full opportunities for the area,” Ms. Saiyut said.
