FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Outstanding public debt rises 7.6% to Bt6.37 tn in 2017

Outstanding public debt rises 7.6% to Bt6.37 tn in 2017

THAILAND’S outstanding public debt reached Bt6.37 trillion at the end of 2017, a rise of 7.6 per cent from the end of the previous year, the Finance Ministry’s bond market adviser, Theeraj Athanavanich, said.

The end-December figure equates to 41.76 per cent of the country’s gross domestic products (GDP). Outstanding public debt stood at Bt5.92 trillion on December 31, 2016.
The total public debt outstanding comprised Bt5.02 trillion of government debt, Bt940.26 billion of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) debt, Bt393.06 billion of debt at Government Guaranteed Financial SOEs – which refers to a state enterprise that undertakes lending |business, asset management and credit guarantees – and Bt10.65 billion of other government agencies debt. Compared with last |month, public debt outstanding increased by Bt45.94 billion.
Public debt outstanding on December 31 was Bt6.37 trillion, of which Bt6.07 trillion was domestic debt (95.36 per cent of total public debt), and Bt295.41 billion (or US$8.96 billion) in external debts (4.64 per cent of total public debt).
Classified by remaining maturity, long-term debt outstanding was Bt5.81 trillion (91.21 per cent of total public debt) and short-term debt outstanding was Bt560.17 billion (8.79 per cent of total public debt).
According to the detail of public debt rising, government debt outstanding was at Bt5.02 trillion, increasing by Bt68.11 billion from last month. 
This s follows financing under the Annual Budget Expenditure Act B.E. 2561 (2018), and debt management increased by Bt66.94 billion. This increase was mainly due to borrowings required for the country’s development.
Domestic debt to finance infrastructure investment increased by Bt2.75 billion, which resulted from an increase in on-lending debt by Bt1.56 billion to State Railway of Thailand for the double-track Chachoengsao-Klong 19-Kaeng Koi project, the double-track Jira Road-Khonkaen Project, the cooperation between the Thai and Chinese governments on the Bangkok–Nong Khai high-speed rail project as well as the Red Line mass transit system project and an increase in on-lending debt by Bt1.18 billion to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand for the Green, Blue, Orange, and Purple lines.
Debt repayments under the emergency decree authorising the Ministry of Finance to secure loans for the Financial Institutions Development Fund came to Bt1.23 billion.
External debt decreased by Bt343.67 million, mainly due to the disbursement of Japanese yen loan, the principal repayment of US dollar debt and changes in foreign exchange rates, Theeraj said.
Meanwhile, state-owned enterprise debt was Bt940.26 billion, decreasing by Bt16.38 billion. This change was mainly due to government guaranteed debt increasing by Bt561.52 million. This was mainly from the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority and the State Railway of Thailand. Non-government guaranteed debt decreased by Bt16.94 billion. This was mainly from Thai Airways International Plc and the PTT Plc.
Financial state-owned enterprise debt (government guaranteed) was at Bt393.06 billion, decreasing by Bt4.73 billion. This change mainly resulted from the debt repayment by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives. Other government agencies debt was at Bt10.65 billion, decreasing by Bt1.04 billion, mainly owing to the debt repayment of the Office of the Cane and Sugar Fund.
 

nationthailand