Thai SMEs burdened with loans urged to register for debt moratorium

Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said on Tuesday that the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCG) has approved measures for SMEs with non-performing loans (NPLs) in line with the government policy to resolve debt issues in Thailand.

Chai said the TCG board approved two programmes to help SMEs.

Under the first programme, SMEs suffering a financial crisis can register with the TCG from now until June 30 to undergo a debt-moratorium programme.

To be eligible, these SMEs are either labelled as NPL clients or have failed to service their debts for more than 90 days as of December 31. Their loans should also not be more than 10 million baht. The length of debt moratorium granted will depend on each SME, though it should not be over 18 months.

The spokesman said SMEs that entered an earlier debt-restructuring programme with TCG for at least three months will also be eligible for a 1-year debt moratorium.

Chai added that TCG expects to help some 64,000 SMEs.

Under the second programme, TCG will reduce the principal by 15% for SMEs that have been good with their repayments. However, to be eligible, the SMEs should be able to clear all their debt within 60 days after the principal is reduced.

TCG expects to help some 5,000 SMEs under the second programme, Chai said.