Thai Q3 household debt surges to 86.6% of GDP as economy contracts

[BANGKOK] Thailand's household debt level to gross domestic product (GDP) jumped to 86.6 per cent in the third quarter, the highest since 2003, central bank data showed on Wednesday, as the coronavirus pandemic hit the economy.

As of September, household debt rose to 13.77 trillion baht (S$608.87 billion), from 13.58 trillion baht at the end of June, equal to 83.8 per cent of GDP, already among Asia's highest.

The Bank of Thailand's (BOT) household debt data is available from 2003.

South-east Asia's second-largest economy is expected to shrink 6.6 per cent this year, which would be the deepest contraction since the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis, the BOT has forecast.

REUTERS