The Cabinet has approved a measure to offer credit to food and beverage operators affected by the spread of the new wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
The target group includes operators of food shops in department stores, row houses, and commercial buildings, as well as restaurants and food stalls.
Under the measure, the Government Savings Bank will extend combined credit of two billion baht to the affected operators, who will be offered a loan of up to 100,000 baht each without collateral.
The annual interest rate for the loan is 3.99 percent. The term of the loan is not more than five years, and it is free of principal and interest payments for the first six installments. The Government Savings Bank began to offer the loan on 6 July 2021, and the credit extension will continue until 31 December 2021.
At least 40,000 food and beverage operators will benefit from this measure, which will ease their hardships, as consumers are not allowed to have food in their shops; only take-home services are allowed.
The credit extension will also enable them to continue their businesses and prevent economic risks that might take place.
The Cabinet earlier extended the periods to offer credit to SMEs affected by the new wave of COVID-19. The projects under this assistance measure include "Extra Cash” offered by the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand and soft loans for tourism-related businesses offered by the Government Savings Bank.
Source: The Government Public Relations Department