Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith has projected Thailand’s public debt will rise to 62% of GDP in fiscal 2022 from 59.6% as of December 2021.
He said whether the government can maintain the debt level at 62% depends on if the country posts economic growth of 4% this year.
The National Economic and Social Development Council projects economic growth this year in a range of 3.5-4.5%, driven by rising demand, a recovery in domestic tourism, strong exports and high public investment.
Mr Arkhom’s debt projection assumes the government fully borrows 500 billion baht under the second emergency loan decree and fully borrows another 700 billion in fiscal 2022 to offset the budget deficit.
Over the past year the cabinet approved borrowing of around 400 billion…
