Thai Household Debt Rises to 16-Year High as Economy Slows, Survey Shows

(Bloomberg) -- The average household debt in Thailand is seen rising to the highest in at least 16 years as an uneven post-pandemic economic recovery hurts family incomes, according to a survey.

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The debt pile per household is set to jump 8.4% to 606,378 baht ($17,959) this year, according to a survey by the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce. That’s the highest family debt obligation since the university began the survey in 2009. The findings are based on survey of 1,300 respondents during Sept. 1 and 7.

Newly-appointed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is set to prioritize tackling the nation’s household liability estimated at more than 16 trillion baht — equivalent to around 91% of gross domestic product. She is due to announce a sweeping debt restructuring as an urgent priority in her government’s policy statement due on Sept. 12.

“The high level of household debt is hurting the nation’s attractiveness for investors as it limits consumption and growth in the future,” Thanavath Phonvichai, the university’s president, said at a briefing Tuesday. “The government is right on target to address this issue as well as boosting economic growth.”

The household debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to stabilize around the current level before declining to 89% next year as new stimulus measures, especially the cash handout scheme, will help boost economic growth, Thanavath said.

Almost 70% of household liabilities are formal debt, while the rest of the borrowings are from informal sources. Thanavath estimated that the informal debt could be 10%-20% of GDP.

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