Bangkok: Public debt has been reported at 64.02 percent of the country’s GDP, as the Cabinet remains committed to managing the nation’s financial obligations within the framework of fiscal discipline. Mr. Jirayu Huangsap, spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office, stated that the Cabinet has acknowledged the latest report on public debt status in accordance with the Public Debt Management Act, which has seen several amendments. As of August 31, 2024, the outstanding public debt stands at 11,728 trillion baht, or 64.02 percent of GDP, which remains within the fiscal discipline framework capped at 70 percent of the current GDP.
According to Thai News Agency, the debt burden stemming from government borrowing to address damages to the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) is 583,627 million baht, equating to 3.19 percent of GDP. Additionally, the debt burden from state enterprises that are not financial institutions is reported at 1.06 trillion baht, making up 5.79 percent of GDP. State enterprises tha
t are financial institutions with government guarantees account for a debt burden of 189,254.59 million baht, or 1.03 percent of GDP. Furthermore, the debt burden of government agencies is 112,694 million baht, which is 0.62 percent of GDP.
The Prime Minister has set goals to manage public debt sustainably. The strategy includes ensuring that the ratio of government debt to estimated annual revenue remains below 35 percent. It also stipulates that the ratio of public debt in foreign currency to total public debt should not exceed 10 percent, and the ratio of public debt in foreign currency to revenue from exports of goods and services must not surpass 5 percent.