Household debts slow but remain high

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Household debts slow but remain high

By THE NATION

 

 

Commenting on the news that S&P Global Ratings had upgraded its outlook on Thailand's sovereign credit rating to positive from stable for the first time in 9 years, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said after the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday (December 17):

 

“Many people said these ratings have little effect on the people, but it’s important to investors and entrepreneurs, both foreign and domestic, to consider investing and doing business in Thailand.”

 

“More investment will generate additional supply chains in which the grassroots level can participate, therefore it’s vital the people know the country’s status and how they can contribute to the economy,” Prayut added.

 

Later on Tuesday, government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat announced that the Cabinet meeting had acknowledged the status report on Thai society in the third quarter of 2019 presented by Office of the National Economics and Social Development Council (NESDC).

 

“The highlighted issue is Thailand’s household debts as end of Q2 2019, which stand at Bt13.08 trillion or 78.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). That is an increase of 5.8 per cent from previous quarter but is 6.3-per-cent lower than the same period last year,” she said. “The overall credit quality is at the cautious level, as the risks in many types of credits have increased.”

 

The report also mentioned non-performing loans (NPL) of commercial banks’ consumer clients as Bt133.2 billion or 2.81 per cent of total credit, an increase of 12.2 per cent from previous year. It is estimated that household debts in the second half of the year will slow down compared to the first half, but the ratio of household debts to GDP could rise.

 

The NESDC further reported that Thai people’s household debts were mainly due to housing loans (33.8 per cent), followed by personal loans (24 per cent), business- and career-related loans (18.6 per cent), auto loans (12.9 per cent), educational loans (3.1 per cent) and credit card debts (3 per cent). The rest are debts from other sources (4.6 per cent).

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30379575

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-12-18

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