BANGKOK (NNT) – The Deputy Government Spokeswoman, Dr. Ratchada Thanadirek, says the country’s public debt ratio between October 2019 and March 2020 remained within the management framework, while insisting that an executive decree backing loans of 1 trillion baht is not included in this ratio and that the figures are open for public inspection.

Dr. Ratchada said the Ministry of Finance submitted a report on the country’s public debt ratio to the cabinet and a committee overseeing monetary and fiscal policies. From October last year to March this year, the ratio of public debt to gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 41.69 percent, and did not exceed the 60 percent threshold. The ratio of government debt to estimated revenue, capped at 35 percent, stood at 28.26 percent. Foreign currency debt accounted for 2.73 percent of total public debt, and did not exceed the 10 percent limit. The ratio of foreign currency debt to export revenues, capped at 5 percent, stood at 0.18 percent. All the ratios were within the management framework.

The Deputy Government Spokeswoman said the six-month public debt ratio did not include the executive decree backing loans of 1 trillion baht, but it will be included in the next report. The government will acquire the loans and the process will be transparent and verifiable under the fiscal framework. She noted that three other executive decrees, aimed at stimulating the economy and helping those affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, are not loans and are not related to public debt.

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BANGKOK (NNT) – The northern extension of the Green Line train service in Bangkok is making good progress, with stations now scheduled to be open for public trial on 4th June.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will be opening four more stations along the Green Line’s Mo Chit – Saphan Mai – Khu Khot extension, according to the BMA’s executive meeting chaired by Bangkok Governor Pol Gen Aswin Kwanmuang yesterday.

The four stations will extend the northbound service of the BTS Skytrain which currently terminates at Kasetsat University station, to Royal Forest Department station, Bang Bua station, and 11th Infantry Regiment station, before terminating at Wat Phra Sri Mahathat station. The opening ceremony of the public trial will be presided over by the Prime Minister on 4th June.

Also in early June, the BMA is scheduled to open the Chao Phraya Sky Park, an elevated park constructed between lanes of the road over Phra Pok Klao Bridge across the Chao Phraya River. This 280-meter long sky park will allow the general public to walk or cycle across the river between Thonburi and the Phra Nakhon side of Bangkok.

Final inspections of the park will be made on 29th May, while the official opening ceremony is expected to take place in late June.

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Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, the level of global debt was high by historic standards. According to the Institute of International Finance, by late 2019 global debt (including private and public debt) was more than US$250 trillion.

Public debt, in particular, has increased everywhere since the global financial crisis of 2008.

IMF calculations show that public debt ratios in almost 90 per cent of advanced economies are higher than before 2008. Emerging markets on average have seen such ratios increase to levels similar to those seen during the crises of the 1980s and 1990s. Public debt has also built up in low-income countries with two-fifths at high risk of debt distress.

How much global debt has been added on the back of the COVID-19 health emergency? Focusing only on low-income and emerging economies, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva reckoned that US$2.5 trillion was a ‘very conservative, low-end estimate’ of their financing needs.

Where does Asia stand in all this?

The two largest Asian economies, China and Japan, have some of the highest levels of debt in the world — at the end of 2017 Japan’s total debt stood at 395 per cent of GDP and China’s at 254 per cent. But there are some significant differences in their debt composition.

In Japan debt is mainly public — approximately 237 per cent of GDP in 2019 — and is mostly held domestically.

Around 70 per cent of this debt is held by the Bank of Japan. Under normal conditions the combination of domestic–public debt holdings and very low interest rates considerably reduces the risk of default.

But will things change now? Japan’s…

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