Moody's justifies Thai 'Baa1' rating

In its credit analysis, Moody’s said it does not anticipate a material deterioration in Thailand’s fiscal metrics in 2013-14. Though showing concern that populist measures pose a risk to fiscal discipline and increased off-budget financing impairs transparency, it admitted that public debt would remain at an accommodative level. “Fiscal discipline has been tested by successive crises, but fiscal and debt ratios continue to be in line with rating peers, even when factoring in negative repercussions from populist fiscal policies,” the ratings agency said. The report followed an analyst visit earlier this year. Thailand, encouraged by 6.4-per-cent economic growth last year and bright prospects from new investment schemes, has been expecting an upgrade in its credit rating.