Thailand’s Slump Pushes Spreads on Risky Bonds to a Decade-High
- IMF forecasts Thai economy to contract by 6.7% this year
- Government is re-opening economy in phases as virus cases drop
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Thailand’s tourist-dependent economy is slowly re-opening but the dent from the coronavirus outbreak is so large that weaker borrowers are facing a tough time in the credit market.
The International Monetary Fund forecast in April that the nation’s economy will contract 6.7% this year, the most of any emerging Asian country. Yield premiums on riskier local-currency debt have jumped near the highest in a decade. At least seven lower-rated Thai borrowers failed to raise as much in baht notes as they’d wanted recently, according to data from the Thai Bond Market Association and Securities & Exchange Commission.