Thailand plans to sell $1.3B of govt savings bonds by year-end

BANGKOK  – Thailand plans to sell up to 50 billion baht ($1.31 billion) of government savings bonds by the end of the year to help finance the country’s budget deficit, a finance ministry official said on Wednesday.

The bonds are part of a planned issue of 130 billion of government savings bonds for the current fiscal year starting in October, Patricia Mongkhonvanit, head of the ministry’s public debt management office, told reporters.

There was sufficient liquidity in the Thai market, she said.

The government had no plan to issue dollar bonds, unless necessary, as they were more expensive than domestic borrowing, Patricia said.

The central bank’s key interest rate is just 1 percent.

Thailand’s public debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio was likely at 60.65 percent at the end of September, still within the approved limit of 70 percent, Patricia said.

($1 = 38.1400 baht)