Govt debt to reach Bt2.3 trillion by the end of fiscal 2022
Total government debt as of the end of fiscal year 2022 will reach 2.3 trillion baht or 62 per cent of GDP, said Patricia Mongkhonvanit, director-general at the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) on Wednesday.
“Of this amount, 1.19 trillion baht is debt that we already borrowed and was included in the public debt figure as of September 2021, whereas total public debt is at 57.98 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP),” she said. “Meanwhile, the 1.12 trillion baht will be new debt that the government will borrow in fiscal year 2022, which will drive total public debt at the end of September 2022 to 62 per cent of the country’s GDP.”
Patricia added that in fiscal year 2022 the government will use government bonds as a major tool in borrowing money. “The government will use bonds ranging from 3 to 50 years period to borrow 1.1 to 1.3 trillion baht, or 48 to 56 per cent of projected total debt,” she said. “Other tools that will be used as well include treasury bill at 540 billion baht or 23 per cent, and promissory note and term loan at 390-590 billion or 16 to 25 per cent.”
“The government dose not block loans from foreign sources but will prioritize the use of domestic sources first. In case the domestic bond market becomes more strained we may consider borrowing money from foreign sources, which will be in the form of issuing government bonds for investment projects, such as the construction of U-Tapao International Airport,” said Patricia.
Patricia further added that Ministry of Finance is preparing to issue a new saving bond called Om Pai Duay Kan (Let’s Save Together) at 80 billion baht on November 15 to compensate budget deficit. The second batch of 70 billion baht will be issued around May to August 2022, and will compliment the target of issuing total 150 billion baht worth of saving bonds in fiscal year 2022.
