Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs and Minister of Energy has revealed an outlook for Thailand’s economy to fully recover from the COVID-19 crisis in 2 years, with the debt-to-GDP ratio maintained below 60 percent.
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The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Supattanapong Punmeechaow gave a lecture on options and the survival of Thailand, in which he has forecast that the Thai economy will recover from the COVID-19 crisis in two years, or at the earliest by the end of 2021, thanks to the government’s measures.
He said the government has issued assistance measures for 33 million people, using about 800 billion baht, while at the same time promoted access to soft loans for the general public and businesses to maintain their fluidity, along with debt restructuring campaigns.
Mr. Supattanapong said some 13 million people and businesses have already applied for these measures, for a total debt amount of 7 trillion baht. He said the government will be issuing new economic stimuli before the end of this year, to increase employment and boost the economies of individual sectors.
The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) Deputy Secretary General Danucha Pichayanan said the country’s current public debt to GDP ratio is now 47 percent. This ratio will be raised to 57 percent with the 1 trillion baht loan campaign, which is still below the 60 percent ceiling.
He said the public debt ratio is of no serious concern, adding into consideration that majority of this loan will be for investments and economic stimulation. However, the government must, in the long run, review the budgeting balance to ensure the country’s stability. (NNT)