(Bloomberg) -- Thailand plans to implement a $14 billion cash handout plan in the final quarter of this year as Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s government touts the stimulus as key to revive growth in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.

Srettha will chair a meeting of the so-called digital wallet committee on April 10 to finalize details including the source of funding and other technical issues, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said Monday. The cabinet is expected to approve the program by the end of April, he said on Facebook.

The salient features of the handout — 10,000 baht each to 50 million adult Thais — will remain as announced previously, he said.

The scope of the program has been whittled down from its original target of 56 million people who are 16 years or older as the panel decided to exclude high-income earners and affluent Thais. It’s now proposed to be funded through a one-time borrowing as opposed to initial plans to finance through the state budget.

The cash dole was a centerpiece of ruling Pheu Thai party’s election pledge, but has been delayed by concerns including from central bankers and opposition parties that the payout may fan inflation and widen fiscal deficit. The prime minister has been making a case for the stimulus, pointing to the weak economic performance and high household debt.

“Given the current economic situation, we all agree that our economy needs stimulus,” Julapun told reporters. “I can assure that the program will go ahead and the cash handout will certainly be distributed.”

Read More: Srettha’s Standoff With BOT Risks Thailand’s Economic Turnaround

Thailand’s factory output has shrunk for more than a year, while business sentiment has deteriorated for five straight months since October. That’s contributed to Thailand’s GDP expansion remaining the slowest among Southeast Asian peers. It grew 1.9% last year, extending a decade of average sub-2% growth.

Srettha has pointed to the weak economic output and a spell of negative inflation since October to urge the Bank of Thailand to cut interest rate, a demand resisted by the central bank so far.

A sub-committee of officials supervising the program will report the project’s progress so far to the main panel on Wednesday, Julapun said, adding the registration for beneficiaries and participating merchants will start in the third quarter.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.