PM announces comprehensive plan to address informal debt problem

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin declared the government’s determination today to address the chronic informal debt problem, which is affecting many people, by mobilising the police, local officials nationwide and the Finance Ministry to help in mediating settlement of informal debts with creditors in a manner which is fair to both parties and which will enable debtors to maintain their dignity.

At a press conference, held at Government House and attended by Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and representatives from the police and Finance Ministry, the prime minister said that the government’s method to address the informal debt problem is different from that used by previous governments, because it is a collective effort by several key parties, particularly the police and local officials who are close to the problem, the creditors and debtors, with the government at the core of the debt mediation process.

He also warned that the government’s attempt to address this problem is not a cure-all that will eliminate the informal debt problem or prevent people from getting back into the vicious cycle of debt, but he hopes that the problem will ease substantially when the economy recovers.