Housing rental plan sped up
The National Housing Authority (NHA) has been ordered to speed up the rental housing scheme for low-income earners under the “Baan Kheha Sukpracha” project.
The State Enterprise Policy Commission chaired by the prime minister, which met virtually yesterday, agreed to order the NHA to hurry the development of 100,000 housing units nationwide under the five-year Baan Kheha Sukpracha project.
Pantip Sripimol, director-general of the State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo), said the meeting also allowed the NHA to apply for a public-private partnership agreement in order to speed up the project, while assigning the authority to partner to the Social Development and Human Security Ministry to propose details of the development plan at the next meeting of the State Enterprise Policy Commission, which has not been decided.
The cheap rental housing scheme aims to reduce expenses and create opportunities for people with low incomes to access housing units.
The project is also meant to help create careers for residents.
Eligible applicants comprise Thai citizens feeling the pinch from economic slowdown due to Covid-19, the unemployed, disabled, elderly, retired civil servants, and those affected by land expropriation by the government.
Recipients must not have more than 30,000 baht worth of income per month per household.
In a related development, Ms Pantip said the meeting acknowledged the operating results of 123 state-owned enterprises, 71 of which reported profits, 25 were in the red, and the remaining 27 were in the process of liquidations or divestments.
She said Sepo remains committed to cabinet plans to dispose of Finance Ministry shares held in non-listed, privately owned companies.
It has already sold certain parts of the ministry’s holdings.
The cabinet on Sept 27, 2017, resolved to permit the Finance Ministry to sell shares in non-listed companies in which the ministry owns less than 50%, as well as assets that were derived from foreclosures. The auctions must comply with a five-year divestment plan through 2021.
The ministry’s policy is to only hold stakes in companies that operate in strategic industries, sectors that are crucial to the country’s development, or those related to public services such as utilities or finance.
The divestment policy aims to fetch prices higher than those the ministry paid to prevent any financial damage, although the selling period should be appropriate, said Ms Pantip.
Between 2017 and 2018, Sepo announced the sale of non-listed securities of 24 privately owned companies held by the ministry, but only managed to sell off two: Thai Maritime Navigation and Siam City Insurance Plc.