Thailand's deep debt is a concern shared by all
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Re: "Expats bring a different perspective to political debate," Letters, July 15.
Robin Grant wrote, “Vint Chavala is clearly a patriotic Thai, and his fondness for his native land is shared by many farang living here.” Then let a farang tell the truth about debt.
The Wall Street Journal notes that, “Debt levels in several Asian countries, such as China, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea, are higher than they were before the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Some countries, such as South Korea, Malaysia and Australia, have household-debt-to-income levels greater than the US had before its financial crisis.”
Last September Forbes reported that Japan and Singapore are the first- and fifth-most indebted countries, using debt-to-GDP ratios (“The seven most indebted nations”). Meanwhile, according to CNBC, “Malaysia’s ratio of household debt-to-income was 146 per cent, while Thailand’s was at 121 per cent, based on mid-2014 data.”
Anyone who shares a fondness for Thailand and Southeast Asia should be concerned about the danger of its economies imploding under debt.
Guy Baker
