Thais rule out debt delay

Thais rule out debt delay

BANGKOK (AFP): The central Bank of Thailand (BoT) yesterday ruled out a Thai debt moratorium following Indonesia's announcement of plans to stall debt repayments by its corporate borrowers.

"We do not need to follow Indonesia's lead," the BoT's Financial Supervision Department director, Kleothong Hetrakul, told AFP-affiliated financial news agency AFX-Asia.

She said Thailand's economic problems were less serious than Indonesia's and the proposed "voluntary" debt moratorium by Jakarta should not have any impact on Thailand as the baht was seen as stable.

The comments followed an Indonesian announcement that it would ask lenders for a "voluntary" moratorium on debts crushing corporate borrowers.

Separate committees representing senior international bankers from the main creditor countries and the Indonesian borrowers would be established to negotiate settlements on a company-by- company case.

Thailand has been crippled under the weight of US$70 billion in public debt and almost $40 billion in private debt, compounded by the crash of the baht since its float last year.