Thailand to create asset management firm to tackle soaring household debt

BANGKOK: Thailand will establish an asset management firm in the first quarter of this year to help resolve its stubborn problem of high household debt worth US$452 billion, the prime minister said on Monday (Feb 12).

Household debt management had many challenges as some creditors refused to enter the process, Srettha Thavisin told a press briefing on recently announced measures to tackle debt both in and outside the financial system.

Thailand has one of the region’s highest ratios of household debt, at 16.2 trillion baht (US$451.6 billion) or 90.9 per cent of gross domestic product, as of the end of September 2023.

The use of illegal loan sharks is rife among lower-income families unable to get bank loans, with many people trapped by debt with high-interest rates.

The asset management firm would be set up by the Government Savings Bank and would mainly tackle persistent debts,…