Moody’s maintains Baa1 rating on Thai government bonds

BANGKOK, February 22 (TNA) - Moody’s Investors Service has maintained rating of bonds issued by the Thai government at Baa1 and retained the "stable" outlook despite political turbulence prevailing in the country. According to Suwit Rojanavanich, bond market adviser of the Ministry of Finance's Public Debt Management Office, Moody’s explains that the current political trouble has not much affected the Thai economy due to the country's strong debt structure although there are signs that debts owed by the Thai government should rise in the future. Suwit told journalists on Saturday, citing the US-based credit rating agency as saying, that at the end of calendar 2013, the Thai government’s debts stood at the manageable 32.2 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), while the government has continued to be cautious in implementing monetary, fiscal and macroeconomic policies. Moody’s assessed that Thailand’s current account would contract slightly, standing lower than one per cent in 2014, while Thailand's economic growth in the middle term has not yet affected by the ongoing political protests and the country's GDP could, thus, grow by 3 per cent on average this year, as the ongoing domestic political trouble should return to normal in the second half of the year.(TNA)