By Thai Newsroom Reporters
ABOUT 10 MILLION LICITLY indebted people nationwide are going to be salvaged under another populist campaign launched by the Pheu Thai-led government, according to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.
The prime minister reassured today (Dec.12) that an estimated 10 million licitly indebted people will be rescued under the government’s campaign to the extent that they no longer get themselves in debt, albeit in licit fashion.
That is completely irrelevant to an unspecified number of people who may currently owe illicit, informal debt to loan sharks. About 80,000 people nationwide have so far claimed to the authorities to owe debt to loan sharks.
The prime minister confirmed that the anti-debt campaign calls for moratoriums, interest cuts and extension in repayment terms in favour of all categories of licit debtor.
In particular, according to the prime minister who concurrently performs as finance minister, an estimated five million students and those who may already have graduated and still owe debt to the state-run Student Loan Fund will be gradually salvaged with a reduction in interest rates and an extension in repayment terms.
An estimated three million SME operators who have been earlier affected by the Covid-19 pandemic will be rescued with a debt moratorium, an interest cut to 1% and the waiver of their non-performing loan status, the prime minister said.
Each of an estimated two million farmers will be provided a three-year moratorium for a maximum of three million baht in licit debt, mostly owed to the Bank for Agriculture & Agricultural Cooperatives and Government Savings Bank.
Government personnel including some 900,000 teachers, found to be licitly indebted with credit cards and personal loans earlier provided by banks will have the repayment terms for such licit debt extended to a maximum of 10 years and the interest rates cut from as much as 16-25% to 3.5% per year, according to the prime minister, saying the government has ultimately resolved to enable those licitly indebted people to stand on their feet again.
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Top and Front Page: Representative images of debts. Credit: Matichon
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