Government agencies and private companies have flooded the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) with proposals aimed at winning financial support under the government's "Creative Economy" programme, with the combined value of the proposals having already reached twice the scheme's budget.
The government has set aside Bt20.13 billion to fund the programme, which is designed to increase the added value of Thai industrial and cultural assets. It is part of the Bt1.43-trillion "Thai Khemkhaeng" project.
"Even a fat-free pork sausage-maker has applied for a piece of the budget," said a Commerce Ministry source who works on the budget-allocation team.
One reason for the huge number of proposals, the source said, is a misunderstanding of the concept behind the government's "Creative Economy; Creative Thailand" policy.
A key aim of the project is to make it easier for manufacturers to raise funds for product development and commercialise innovative product ideas.
The source said the NESDB, which is responsible for the programme, should set clearer conditions, principles and definitions of the "Creative Economy" policy. Without such a clarification, he said, some funds could go to unqualified projects and put more-promising projects at a disadvantage.
Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Pollabutr, the key backer of the programme in the Cabinet, said earlier that Thailand should gather creative ideas from across the manufacturing and service sectors to strengthen the Kingdom's competitiveness in what he called a "new economic era".
The Commerce Ministry will hold a press conference today to provide more details on the qualifications for the scheme, and on the firms that have applied so far.