Household debt at record Bt340,000
Household debt in Thailand has hit a record high of Bt340,000 per household, an increase of 7.4 per cent over last year at this time, according to a survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
Thanawat Pholwichai, director of the school’s Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting, said on Thursday (November 28) the survey taken from November 11-23 covered 1,201 people nationwide.
More than 88 per cent of respondents said they were in debt, mainly due to general expenditures such as buying a vehicle or house, and to credit card spending related to their jobs.
More than 59 per cent cited formal debt and 40.8 per cent informal debt. Monthly instalments were costing them Bt16,000 on formal debt and Bt5,222 on informal debt.
Thanawat expressed concern about the historic level of household debt, which he attributed to stagnating economic growth, global trade conflicts and higher prices for consumers goods.
Many people yearn to be thriftier and reduce their cost of living but cannot because the price of goods continues rising, he said.
He expected more government economic stimuli will be needed by the middle of the first quarter of 2020 to continue floating the economy.