Debt ceiling squeeze looms as PP sounds alarm

The opposition People’s Party (PP) has raised concerns over the slim gap before the country hits its public debt ceiling, which it believes could jeopardise treasury reserves.

- AEKARACH SATTABURUTH

As public debts are expected to reach 13.5 trillion baht in the coming fiscal year, the proportion of debts to gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to reach 69%, said Sirikanya Tansakun, list-MP of the PP, speaking at a meeting yesterday of the special House committee vetting the budget bill for fiscal year 2026.

This means only about 210 billion baht more could be borrowed, so the government could seek to expand the public debt ceiling, she said.

Ms Sirikanya called on the Ministry of Finance to explain how it would cope with this situation, while urging the Bank of Thailand to respond to recent analyses that pointed to the likelihood of Thailand plunging into deflation, mainly due to weak purchasing power.

She said that according to the 2024 budget report, tax revenue collection fell short of the target by nearly 80 billion baht.