Moody’s rates Thailand stable, says investment will rise

“Thailand’s economy is stable thanks to strong public finances and low short-term debt, according to Moody’s Investor Services, which maintained the Kingdom’s sovereign credit rating at Baa1, equivalent to BBB+,” said Ratchada Thanadirek, Deputy Government Spokesperson.

Ratchada added that “Moody’s commented that Thailand has low short-term debt of only 8 percent, with an extremely low foreign currency debt of less than 2 percent, which contributed to the low inflation rate.”

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand has sustained its fiscal responsibility, and once the pandemic begins to pass, then foreign investment will resume its steady flow to the Kingdom, the agency predicted.

“Moody’s estimates that after the COVID-19 situation is resolved, foreign investment in Thailand will continue to grow, especially in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC),” Ratchada said. “This will help boost domestic employment as well as consumption demand and ultimately increase the country’s competitiveness in the global market,” she said.

The EEC is a three-province advanced development zone adjacent to the capital Bangkok. It is home to 12 S-Curve industries, such as digital industries and electric vehicles, that the Kingdom is counting on to drive it to a higher level of development.

The government has significantly invested in cutting-edge infrastructure and logistics to support business in the corridor. Consequently, the area has become the most popular location in Thailand where companies make investments.

“According to Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI), in the first half of 2021, over 800 projects have been granted privileges with total investment value of $11.7 billion, up 158 percent on the same period last year,” Ratchada said. “The top three countries granted investment privileges are Japan, the U.S. and China.”

Photo courtesy of: https://outlooks.moodys.io/