Thai economy stable but household debt remains a worry

Thailand's economy remains stable and is projected to continue growing for the rest of 2023, according to the country’s National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).

According to NESDC Secretary-General Danucha Pichayanan, the country’s state budget disbursements will reach some 1 trillion THB (28.5 billion USD) in the fourth quarter of this year.

From the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, about 1.8 trillion - 1.9 trillion THB will be injected into the economic system from regular budgets, budget allocations of government agencies, and state enterprise investments. This will help stimulate consumption and domestic spending but is conditional upon expediting budget preparation and announcing the implementation of the Budget Expenditure Act for fiscal 2024 within the first quarter of next year.

In the first quarter of 2024, a budget allocation of approximately 700 billion THB will be available for disbursement into the economic system. Those funds will come from the regular budget allocation and the earmarked budget of government agencies, totaling around 650 billion THB, as well as funds from state enterprise investments amounting to approximately 50 billion THB.

According to the official, Thailand's economy has expanded satisfactorily this year, supported by tourism and domestic consumption. Current figures show approximately 2 million tourists entering Thailand per month, which is expected to increase during the high season, with up to 28 million foreign tourists projected to visit the country this year.

However, the Thai economy needs to monitor household debt, particularly the increasing default rate of hire-purchase car loans, while credit card debts continue to rise. Not only solving the problems, Thailand needs to promote financial literacy to prevent excessive spending and accumulating more debt than the ability to repay./.

VNA