Thailand’s household debt soars as auto loans and cooperative debts spike

The secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) issued a warning over the steady increase in Thailand‘s household debt. The critical areas requiring stringent monitoring were identified as auto loans and debt originating from savings cooperatives.

During a press conference outlining the nation’s social outlook for the second quarter of 2023, Danucha Pichayanan revealed that household debt in the first quarter had surged to 15.9 trillion baht, marking a 3.6% increase. This uptick shows a slight acceleration from the 3.5% rise seen in the previous quarter. Conversely, the household debt to GDP ratio showed a minor decrease, standing at 90.6%.

Danucha attributed the bulk of the first quarter’s household debt growth to real estate purchases and personal loans, which rose by 5% and 5.3% respectively compared to the previous…