To address this, the government would encourage an asset management company to coordinate with banks and small-scale debtors, urging those with debts of no more than 100,000 baht to enter the debt restructuring programme.

Pichai added that the government would support the programme by covering operational costs. “I believe the government won’t need a large budget for this, as banks have already classified this group of debtors as NPLs,” he said.

The finance minister also stated that the government aimed to enrol debtors from the 1.22 trillion baht NPL category into the restructuring programme to clear their records with the Credit Bureau.

However, he noted that the process could not be completed within just three to six months and would likely take one to two years.