Public debt Level to be capped at 50% of GDP
Public Debt Policy Office (PDMO) will keep Thailand’s public debt at no more than 50 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the next 10 years, despite the government’s planned investment in mega infrastructure projects worth over Bt2 trillion in the next four to five years.
Jindarat Viriyataveekul, director of the Policy and Planning Bureau and deputy spokesperson at PDMO, said “the outstanding public debt is estimated to peak at 46-47 per cent of the nation’s GDP in 2025, still below the sustainable fiscal framework of no more than 60 per cent of the GDP.”
She cited Thailand’s estimated economic expansion, taking into acount future potential, annual disbursement of borrowings for the mega infrastructure projects and mega investment through public-private partnership scheme to lessen the government’s debt burden for the limit of the public debt.
Besides, upward trend for global interest rates is expected not to affect PDMO’s debt burden as fixed interest rates are levied on 90 per cent of its debts, she said. Next year, PDMO will consider bonds’ average maturities following the upward interest rate trend.
In addition, PDMO has teamed up with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to hold the “2018 Asian Regional Public Debt Management Forum” on “Prudent Debt Management for Sustainable Growth in the age of Digital Transformation” in Surat Thani province form June 13 to 15. About 180 representatives from 48 countries in Asia-Pacific are expected.
