Govt talks slash 90m baht in loan-shark debt
Government mediation has reduced the debt burden by almost 90 million baht for illegal loan debtors, just three weeks after the December 1 start of registration, government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke said on Friday.
As of December 21, a total of 1,294 registered debtors had participated in debt mediation efforts brokered by local officials. Of those, 224 debtors managed to reach an agreement with their creditors, together promising to pay back 44 million baht in debts, according to Chai. That was a decrease of 89.5 million baht from the original debts of 133.5 million, he added.
Nakhon Sawan province saw the highest number of debtors taking part in the debt mediation, with 185 debtors and 16 successful mediations. The original debts of 14.4 million baht fell to 570,000 baht after the mediation, a drop of 13.8 million baht.
Spokesperson Chai on Friday said that the success of these early mediations were proof that the government was serious about tackling the debt problem, whether involving legal or illegal lending. “The relevant agencies are actively dealing with the problem for the people, and there have been many concrete cases of success,” he added.
As of December 21, a total of 105,482 people had registered to join the government’s debt mediation programme, involving 6.57 billion baht in total debts and 76,223 creditors. A total of 92,235 registrations were made online and 13,247 in person at district offices or relevant state agencies.
Bangkok saw the largest number of registered debtors, at 6,649 along with 5,692 creditors and involving 562.4 million baht in total debt. It was followed by Nakhon Si Thammarat (4,506 debtors/3,722 creditors/278.5 million baht of debt), Songkhla (4,164 debtors/2,975 creditors/259.2 million baht), Nakhon Ratchasima (4,065 debtors/2,596 creditors/311.7 million baht), and Khon Kaen (2,764 debtors/2,245 creditors/205.6 million baht).
The northern border province of Mae Hong Son saw the smallest number of registered debtors over the past three weeks at 144, with 113 creditors involving 6.6 million baht in total debt. It was followed by Ranong (221 debtors/138 creditors/15.6 million baht of debt), Samut Songkhram (281 debtors/201 creditors/9.2 million baht), Trat (350 debtors/226 creditors/12.4 million baht), and Singburi (382 debtors/248 creditors/14.4 million baht).
Chai on Friday asked debtors seeking government mediation through the Interior Ministry, to register online at the website debt.dopa.go.th or in person at any district office. The registration is open until March 31 next year.
According to Chai, the process calls for creditors of illegal lending to be summoned for negotiation and debt mediation. “This aims to end debts that carry an interest rate higher than the legal limit, which leads to an endless cycle of suffering for the debtors involved,” he said.
Chai added that the government is serious about tackling the debt problem to help those who are indebted to get out of the “debt cycle” and live a better life with self-esteem. He said that with reduced debt burdens for households across the country, the Thai economy would get stronger.
