Thailand

Thai retail and property conglomerate Central Group said on Monday it will take over the operational business of Magazine zum Globus AG, which operates luxury department stores in Switzerland, Reuters reported. Globus is another piece of the fallen empire of Austrian property tycoon Rene Benko, whose sprawling Signa group folded late last year, sending shockwaves through a European property sector already beset with problems.

Thailand plans to raise government borrowing by about 8% in the fiscal year starting October to aid economic growth, Bloomberg News reported. About 1.1 trillion baht ($33 billion), or 41% of the total $78 billion, will be fresh borrowing to mainly finance the budget deficit, while the rest has been earmarked for refinancing and restructuring of existing debt. The Public Debt Management Office held a meeting with bond traders and fund managers on Monday in Bangkok.

Thailand expects less than 40 million people to sign up for its flagship digital wallet handout scheme, with the first phase set to be distributed to 14.5 million vulnerable people from Sept. 25, a finance ministry official said on Monday, Reuters reported. The government has planned to give away 450 billion baht ($13.6 billion) to 45 million people under its stimulus programme, which will see 10,000 baht ($300) transferred to each person who registers to spend in their localities within six months.

The average household debt in Thailand is seen rising to the highest in at least 16 years as an uneven post-pandemic economic recovery hurts family incomes, according to a survey, Bloomberg News reported. The debt pile per household is set to jump 8.4% to 606,378 baht ($17,959) this year, according to a survey by the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce. That’s the highest family debt obligation since the university began the survey in 2009. The findings are based on survey of 1,300 respondents during Sept. 1 and 7.

Energy Absolute Pcl obtained approval to extend the maturity of 4 billion baht ($116.5 million) of green bonds, providing some relief for the Thai renewable energy company that’s under a fraud investigation, Bloomberg News reported. The shares surged the most in more than a decade. Holders of the debt papers on Friday agreed to push back the maturity period by nine months to June 30, 2025, the company said in an exchange filing on Friday. Along with the extension, Energy Absolute also obtained their approval to pay 1.8% additional interest on the notes, payable every six months.

Thailand needs to urgently tackle its high levels of household and public debt, and focus on policies that can propel the country’s growth rate to match some of its Southeast Asian neighbors, according to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Bloomberg News reported.

Thailand’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at a decade high again, amid renewed political uncertainty and some calls to start easing to aid the economic recovery, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Thailand said Wednesday that its policy committee voted six to one to maintain its one-day repurchase rate at 2.50%. One member voted to cut the policy rate by 25 basis points, “to reflect Thailand’s lower potential growth as a result of structural challenges,” and help ease debt-servicing burdens for borrowers, it said.

Thailand’s key economic stimulus — almost $14 billion in cash payments to its citizens — will need further study to ensure compliance with the nation’s fiscal discipline law, newly appointed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said, Bloomberg News reported. The change in economic condition is prompting further assessment and reviews, Paetongtarn, 37, told reporters Sunday. She was responding to reports that her father Thaksin Shinawatra is demanding that the new government drop the Pheu Thai party’s flagship policy during the election campaign last year.