Bangkok, JCR maintains Thailand’s credit rating of A and maintains its creditworthiness and stability outlook.
Mrs. Jindarat Wiriyataweekul, Public Debt Consultant A spokesman for the Public Debt Management Office revealed that Japan Credit Rating Agency, Ltd. (JCR) has maintained Thailand’s credit rating (Sovereign Credit Rating) at A and maintained the outlook for Thailand’s creditworthiness at Stable Outlook. The key points are as follows: 1) Thailand’s credit rating reflects strong economic fundamentals. The financial system is stable. and is flexible in dealing with external shocks. The Thai economy has recovered continuously since 2021. It is expected to continue to grow stably in 2024 from service sector exports and private sector consumption. However, In the long run, the Thai economy may be affected by a declining birth rate. and an increasing elderly population
2) The Thai government has used tax measures to encourage and attract foreign investors. Including emphasizing the importance of infrastr
ucture development in important areas such as the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project to push Thailand to be the center of the supply chain (Supply Chain Hub) in the automotive industry. Supply Chain) Electrical Industry and the electronics industry in Southeast Asia
3) The Thai economy in 2023 grows at 1.9 percent from private sector consumption and investment. and the return of foreign tourists while merchandise exports decreased This is because the economy of importing countries has slowed down. The government expects that the Thai economy in 2024 will grow at 2.2 – 3.2 percent under the assumption that merchandise exports recover. Private consumption and investment expanded. as well as the tourism sector continues to recover.
4) The government still maintains a good fiscal position despite having to borrow large amounts of money during the recent outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019. This causes the need to adjust the ceiling on the public debt to GDP ratio from 60 percent to 70 percent. The pub
lic debt to GDP ratio at the end of 2024 is expected to be at 62.4 percent and the government will still be able to maintain the public debt to GDP level. lower than 70 percent. In addition, the majority of public debt is still domestic debt and the ratio of foreign debt to outstanding public debt is low at 1.4 percent.
5) The current account balance will begin to return to surplus in 2023 and JCR expects that in 2024 it will continue to be in surplus and international reserves are at a high level and able to absorb impacts caused by external factors (External Shocks).
Source: Thai News Agency