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.