No rise in lending rates
State-owned banks will announce today that their lending rates are to remain unchanged in order to lessen the burden of rising oil prices and interest rates, Foreign Ministry spokesman Somchai Sujjapongse said yesterday.
The Government Savings Bank, Government Housing Bank, Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives and Export-Import Bank of Thailand will work together to help lower income groups, said Somchai. Meanwhile, caretaker Finance Minister Thanong Bidaya said his ministry would not be offering tax cuts on oil or other products. He said there were no further cuts on the agenda for today's Cabinet meeting. The ministry had earlier reduced tariffs on engines powered by natural gas. Thanong also said that due to the Election Commission naming October 22 as the date for the new election, there would be a delay to the setting of the 2007 fiscal budget. Usually a draft budget is submitted to Parliament before October, the first month of the fiscal year. Wichit Chaitrong Tha Nation
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