Loans of up to Bt5,000 for taxis

The Commerce Ministry is joining with the Government Savings Bank to offer loans of up to Bt5,000 to taxi drivers, to help them meet the rising cost of living.

The loan carries 0.75-per-cent monthly interest and 12 instalment repayments.

The Internal Trade Department and the bank have already signed a memorandum of understanding.

Loan seekers and their guarantors must both be over 20, hold valid taxi driving licences and have worked as drivers for at least two years.

Siam Taxi Cooperatives chairman Vitoon Naewpanit said the interest rate for the scheme was still high. Calculated on a yearly basis, it would be 16-17

per cent. He said there were 60,000 licensed taxi

drivers.

If each one took out a

loan for the maximum Bt5,000, that would amount to Bt300 million.