Mr. Pakorn Nilprapunt, Deputy Prime Minister, disclosed that the government is currently considering issuing an Emergency Decree to borrow funds amounting to 500 billion baht in preparation for possible crises.
The issuance of an Emergency Decree is within the government’s authority as stipulated in the Constitution, enabling actions to address emergencies.
Regarding the legal rationale for choosing the Emergency Decree route, Mr. Pakorn explained that the current situation requires urgent and emergency measures, as the national treasury has quite limited and strained reserves. The country is facing multiple risks, particularly unpredictable external factors, such as the ongoing war and environmental crises like the El Niño phenomenon, which will broadly impact agricultural output and the economy. Therefore, the government needs a reserve budget to be prepared for these emergencies.
Mr. Pakorn stated that, in practice, the actual borrowing may not reach the full amount of 500 billion baht. However, based on public debt management principles, the government must first expand the debt ceiling up to the legal borrowing limit. Presently, Thailand’s public debt ceiling stands at 70%, with current public debt around 66% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
Meanwhile, Mr. Paradorn Prissananantakul, Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, commented on the Emergency Decree, that this process is still in early discussions. There is still debate as to whether such a measure is necessary. The process is feasible, but the government has yet to discuss the overall picture and the debt ceiling has to be raised.
When reporters asked whether the matter had been brought to the Cabinet meeting, Mr. Paradorn confirmed, “Not yet.” There will not be any discussion this Tuesday (April 21, 2026) about the borrowing.
