15 December, 2010
Thailand Post wins green light to lend
Dec 8, 2010
Source: Bangkok Post
The cabinet yesterday approved a plan by Thailand Post to set up a subsidiary to provide microfinance services to low-income earners, using its nationwide post offices as a channel.
Juti: 18m have no access to loans Information and Communications Technology Minister Juti Krairiksh said that the subsidiary would have initial registered capital of 50 million baht and would extend loans as small as 10,000 baht each.
He said that there are about 18 million low-income earners in the country who still have no access to loan sources and Thailand Post's new subsidiary would become their alternative.
Mr Juti said that the funds to be used for the microfinancing would come from Thailand Post's own profit and loans from the Government Savings Bank (GSB).
Interest charges on borrowers will be lower than commercial bank rates, he said.
Thailand Post now has more than 1,200 post offices across the country which could double as channels to provide microfinance.
Earlier, Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said he would like to see Thailand Post collaborate with state banks, namely the GSB and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives (BAAC), to provide the service because the banks already had their own microfinance programmes.
The ICT minister said that of the 18 million people below the poverty line with no access to loans, 4 million would likely borrow from loan sharks, a survey in 2009 showed. They will be the target customer group of Thailand Post's new subsidiary, as well as those earning the daily minimum wage, currently 206 baht per day in Bangkok, or 5,000 baht per month.
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Source: Bangkok Post
The cabinet yesterday approved a plan by Thailand Post to set up a subsidiary to provide microfinance services to low-income earners, using its nationwide post offices as a channel.
Juti: 18m have no access to loans Information and Communications Technology Minister Juti Krairiksh said that the subsidiary would have initial registered capital of 50 million baht and would extend loans as small as 10,000 baht each.
He said that there are about 18 million low-income earners in the country who still have no access to loan sources and Thailand Post's new subsidiary would become their alternative.
Mr Juti said that the funds to be used for the microfinancing would come from Thailand Post's own profit and loans from the Government Savings Bank (GSB).
Interest charges on borrowers will be lower than commercial bank rates, he said.
Thailand Post now has more than 1,200 post offices across the country which could double as channels to provide microfinance.
Earlier, Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said he would like to see Thailand Post collaborate with state banks, namely the GSB and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives (BAAC), to provide the service because the banks already had their own microfinance programmes.
The ICT minister said that of the 18 million people below the poverty line with no access to loans, 4 million would likely borrow from loan sharks, a survey in 2009 showed. They will be the target customer group of Thailand Post's new subsidiary, as well as those earning the daily minimum wage, currently 206 baht per day in Bangkok, or 5,000 baht per month.
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