Inflation, Rising Debt and Weak Baht Set to Shape Thai Election
- Thailand’s growth this year set to lag Southeast Asian peers
- Challenges not easy to solve as nation heads to vote in 2023
A customer looks at shelves of instant noodles at a supermarket in Bangkok.
Photographer: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
As Thai politicians jockey for positions ahead of elections that must be called by March, focus is turning to how the next leadership will manage risks including sky-high prices, a bloated budget deficit and the highest level of household debt in the region.
The tepid pace of recovery in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy will be front and center for voters as authorities grapple with the fastest inflation in 14 years, the baht’s plunge to a 2006-low and household debt at 88% of gross domestic product.