Thai household debt soars to record high

Bangkok

DIN Ruenmeesang spends about half his monthly income making minimum payments on his seven credit cards and multiple bank loans. That isn't stopping the 33-year-old from borrowing again to buy a new car next year.

Spenders like Mr Din are making it hard for Thailand's central bank to cut interest rates even as South-east Asia's second-largest economy struggles with weakening growth. Thai household debt has more than tripled in a decade to a record high 83.5 per cent of gross domestic product, and lower borrowing costs may exacerbate that.

"Life is short, and I want to enjoy it," said Mr Din, who works in the finance department of Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, and has racked up more than 200,000 baht (S$8,000) in debt from buying clot…