Thailand expects less than 40 million to join handout scheme, official says

BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand expects less than 40 million people to sign up for its flagship digital wallet handout scheme, with the first phase set to be distributed to 14.5 million vulnerable people from Sept. 25, a finance ministry official said on Monday.

The government has planned to give away 450 billion baht ($13.6 billion) to 45 million people under its stimulus programme, which will see 10,000 baht ($300) transferred to each person who registers to spend in their localities within six months.

About 36 million people have so far registered for the programme, some of which overlap with the vulnerable groups, Lavaron Sangsnit, the finance ministry's permanent secretary, told reporters.

There are about 3 million people without smartphones, he added.

"From the current data, it is expected that the number of participants in the project will not reach 40 million, which will allow for more flexibility in budget management," he said.

The second phase of the handout is expected in early next year, Lavaron said.

($1 = 33.19 baht)

(Reporting by Kitiphong Thaichareon; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Martin Petty and John Mair)