Thread: Millions of Thai borrowers struggle to get out of debt

Thai small business owner Watcharin Romyen thought she had solved her mounting debt after coming across leaflets left by money lenders on an electricity pole in her neighborhood.

Little did the 42-year-old know that she was entering into a cycle of high-interest collection in which, she said, loan sharks pursued her, leaving her in near financial ruin and with a mental breakdown.

“I had borrowed from all my relatives and I didn’t know what to do,” Watcharin, who owns an ice distribution business, told BenarNews.

She recalled how, one morning, she had decided to call the number of a money lender listed on one of the leaflets.
“And by noon he arrived at my door. He looked like he was well-to-do. He dressed well and drove a nice car.

“After I took out loans from money lenders and failed to pay up the interest, they called me and said they would come to destroy my house.”

Despite being an upper-middle income country, the minimum wage in Thailand is as little as U.S. $10 (328 baht) per day and its household debt is among the highest in Asia.

In January, Thai economic think-tank TTB Analytics said that by the end of 2024, household debt could reach 16.9 trillion baht ($469 billion), or 91% of the GDP. It blamed factors including stagnant growth, high costs and a lack of financial discipline hindering a debtor’s ability to pay.

Millions of Thai borrowers struggle to get out of debt — BenarNews