BANGKOK (NNT) – The Thai economy is gradually recovering, with monthly economic indicators, such as the consumer confidence index and domestic spending, showing positive signs.

Purchasing power is mainly driven by the government’s measures to help mitigate the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, while loans of 1 trillion baht are being used to fund economic and social rehabilitation.

To deal with a rise in demand for domestic loans from the private sector, the Finance Minister, Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, has directed the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) to study ways to obtain foreign loans, to help diversify loan sources.

Mr. Arkhom said the cost of borrowing from Thai and foreign institutions is similar. Obtaining foreign loans is another way to diversify loan sources, and it also allows the country to acquire technology for further development. However, the ministry has no plans to obtain foreign loans for fiscal year 2021.

At present, the 1-trillion-baht loan decree consists of a loan of 1.5 billion US dollars, or 48 billion baht, granted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Public debt to GDP stands at 49.34 percent

Currently, the ratio of public debt to gross domestic product (GDP) stands at 49.34 percent, which is below the Fiscal Sustainability Framework set at 60 percent.

With the 1-trillion-baht loan decree and other borrowings combined, the ratio of public debt to GDP will not exceed the 60 percent framework in the next five years, on the assumption that the country’s economy will expand four percent in 2021 and three to five percent over the next five years.

Public Debt Outstanding

Debt componentMillion BahtPercentage% per GDP
1. Direct Government Debt5,991,843.5576.3537.68
2. Government Debt to fiscalise FIDF loss743,038.219.474.67
3. SOEs Debt795,980.2910.145.00
4. Financial SOEs Debt (Guaranteed)309,472.363.941.95
5. Other Government Agencies Debt7,821.470.100.05
6. FIDF Debt0.000.000.00
Total7,848,155.88100.0049.35
GDP15,901,591.500.000.00
Source : https://www.pdmo.go.th/en

Information and Source
Reporter : Praphorn Praphornkul
Rewriter : Tarin Angskul
National News Bureau & Public Relations : http://thainews.prd.go.th

About the author

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Get notified of our weekly selection of news

You May Also Like

Thailand to sell 60 billion baht ($1.67 bln) of government bonds

Thailand’s public debt at the end of September was 10.37 trillion baht, or 60.41% of GDP, while the legal ceiling is set at 70%.

QR Payment between Viet Nam and Thailand officially launched

Official Launching of the Cross-border QR Payment Linkage between Viet Nam and Thailand

East Asia and Pacific Growth Buoyed by Recovery in Domestic Demand

Growth in developing East Asia and the Pacific outside of China is forecast to accelerate to 5.3% in 2022 from 2.6% in 2021, according to the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific October 2022 Economic Update.