Thai Government Accelerates Economic Stimulus via State Enterprises
The Thai government has been actively accelerating its economic stimulus measures, achieving significant progress with state enterprises disbursing a total of 219 billion baht, which equates to an impressive 82% of the total planned investment framework for the current period.
According to Tibordee Wattanakul, the director-general of the State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo), his office oversees 43 state enterprises that collectively hold a substantial investment budget of 265 billion baht for the current year.
These enterprises are classified based on their budgeting cycles: those operating under the fiscal year system, which runs from October to September each year, and those utilizing the calendar year system.
The total investment budget disbursement achieved by all 43 state enterprises under Sepo’s supervision reached 219 billion baht as of the end of September.
Furthermore, the nine enterprises operating on the calendar year system retain the ability to continue their investment budget disbursements until the close of 2025, suggesting that the final aggregate disbursement figure will ultimately be higher.
This high rate of capital expenditure deployment is a key mechanism the government uses to inject liquidity and support economic recovery and expansion.
The strong execution of the investment plans by these state enterprises demonstrates a concerted effort to meet policy goals and ensures that public funds are being efficiently channeled into large-scale infrastructure and service projects designed to benefit the wider economy.
Details of Investment Disbursement Across Fiscal Categories
The breakdown of the 219 billion baht disbursement reveals the different paces of capital spending across the two distinct budgeting cycles utilized by the state enterprises.
Specifically, the investment disbursement for the 34 state enterprises operating under the fiscal year 2025 system, which covers the period from October 2024 to September 2025, amounted to 134 billion baht.
In contrast, the nine state enterprises that adhere to the calendar year system collectively disbursed a significant 85.2 billion baht.
Among the fiscal year state enterprises, the top three agencies that not only reached at least 95% of their respective disbursement targets but also handled the highest investment values were the State Railway of Thailand, the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand, and the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority.
This highlights the successful execution of major public infrastructure projects within the transport and utilities sectors.
Similarly, for the calendar year state enterprises, the top three agencies achieving a minimum of 95% disbursement with the highest investment values were the Provincial Electricity Authority, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority.
The consistently high performance of these key energy and utility providers underscores their critical role in national development.
This targeted capital expenditure by all state enterprises is fundamental to supporting construction, creating employment, and upgrading essential public services, thereby making a substantial contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
Budgetary Outlook and Future Investment Targets
Looking ahead, the government has already established clear investment targets to ensure continuity in fiscal discipline and economic stimulation.
The cabinet previously passed a resolution setting the government investment disbursement target for the fiscal year 2026 at 75% of the total investment framework, indicating a slightly more conservative, yet still ambitious, spending goal compared to the 82% achieved this year.
The national budget for fiscal year 2026 is slated to amount to 3.78 trillion baht, which represents a modest increase of 0.7% from the preceding fiscal year.
This budget is meticulously divided into several components: regular expenditure is projected at 2.65 trillion baht, marking a decrease of 1.0% year-on-year; treasury compensation is set at 123 billion baht, a significant jump of 100% year-on-year; the core investment budget is allocated 864 billion baht, which is a decrease of 7.3%; and debt repayment stands at 151 billion baht, an increase of 0.7%.
The government is projecting total revenue collection to reach 2.92 trillion baht, an increase of 1.2% year-on-year.
To cover the projected fiscal deficit, the government plans to borrow 860 billion baht, a minor decrease of 0.7%.
The performance of the state enterprises remains vital to the success of these future budgets, as their efficient capital deployment is a primary tool for realizing the investment portion of the national budget and driving the overall economic growth rate.
