{"id":392373,"date":"2026-04-22T16:35:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T16:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/392373\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T16:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T16:35:13","slug":"bangkok-post-pm-anutin-welcomes-outlook-upgrade-by-moodys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/392373\/","title":{"rendered":"Bangkok Post – PM Anutin welcomes outlook upgrade by Moody\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Finance minister says no need to raise debt ceiling to support B500bn in borrowing<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Prime<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul chairs a meeting to consider the budget framework for the 2027 fiscal year at Government House on Wednesday. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has welcomed the decision by Moody\u2019s Investors Service to revise Thailand\u2019s credit outlook from \u201cnegative\u201d to \u201cstable\u201d while affirming its sovereign rating at Baa1.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Wednesday at the Interior Ministry, Mr Anutin said the improved outlook underscores Thailand\u2019s solid fundamentals and should help boost investor confidence across the board.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t it be good?\u201d he remarked, adding that stronger ratings would encourage greater foreign investment and enhance international confidence in multiple dimensions.<\/p>\n

The move by Moody\u2019s came amid reports that the government was considering raising the public debt ceiling from 70% to 75% of gross domestic product to support more borrowing.<\/p>\n

As of February, the public debt-to-GDP ratio was 66.09%.<\/p>\n

However, Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said on Wednesday that the government has room to borrow up to 500 billion \u200bbaht between now and October without \u200craising the debt ceiling.<\/p>\n

Thailand\u2019s capital and bond markets, as well as excess liquidity, were sufficient to support government borrowing, he \u200bsaid.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we \u2060do not borrow, it would be more dangerous for the economy because GDP would contract,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n

The government on Wednesday also agreed \u200bto \u2060stick to its previously approved 2027 fiscal budget plan, projecting a 0.2% rise in spending to \u20603.788 trillion baht and an 8.4% drop in the deficit to 788 billion, compared with the current fiscal year.<\/p>\n

Political stability helps<\/p>\n

In its assessment<\/a> of the country\u2019s economic and policy trajectory, Moody\u2019s on Tuesday said political stability and continuity were major factors supporting the outlook upgrade.<\/p>\n

Yutthaporn Isarachai, a political science lecturer at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, described the upgrade as a significant positive signal, likening it to a \u201ccertificate of confidence\u201d in Thailand\u2019s economy amid ongoing global volatility.<\/p>\n

He said the shift from a negative to stable outlook shows not just statistical improvement but also the success of the government\u2019s strategic policy direction \u2014 particularly in maintaining political stability and policy continuity, both of which Moody\u2019s considers crucial in reducing structural risks.<\/p>\n

Mr Yutthaporn noted that Thailand has historically faced policy disruptions due to political changes, but the current administration has been able to sustain structural reforms.<\/p>\n

These include regulatory improvements being undertaken to create new growth engines and liberalisation in the energy sector, signalling a transition from short-term measures to long-term, sustainable development.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted the \u201cThailand Fast Pass\u201d \u2014 designed to streamline approvals for high-tech projects, including EVs, electronics and data centres, by resolving issues related to land, electricity, visas and work permits \u2014 as an example of policy innovation benefiting the private sector.<\/p>\n

The initiative has contributed to a gradual recovery in investment and could help attract long-term foreign direct investment if expanded further.<\/p>\n

Structural resilience<\/p>\n

Externally, Thailand continues to demonstrate structural resilience, supported by high international reserves \u2014 sufficient to cover approximately seven months of imports \u2014 and relatively low short-term external debt, strengthening its ability to withstand global uncertainties such as protectionist trade policies.<\/p>\n

Despite the positive outlook revision, Mr Yutthaporn cautioned that challenges remain, particularly in translating policies into tangible outcomes and implementing targeted fiscal measures that effectively reach intended groups to achieve a broad-based economic recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recognition from a global institution presents a vital opportunity for Thailand to build on this momentum,\u201d he said. \u201cIf fiscal discipline and policy continuity are maintained, there is a real possibility of a future credit rating upgrade.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Finance minister says no need to raise debt ceiling to support B500bn in borrowing Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[138,219,202804,111,139,69,196990],"class_list":{"0":"post-392373","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-moody","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-thailand-economy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}