On June 29, 2019, Mr. Pornchai Teerawet, an economic and financial advisor and spokesperson for the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO), revealed the progress in addressing informal debt issues as of May 2019. There has been a continuous increase in interest for licenses to operate pico finance businesses. From December 2016 to May 2019, a total of 1,051 legal entities applied for pico finance business licenses across 76 provinces. Additionally, 21 applications for the pico plus type of pico finance have been submitted. The provinces with the highest number of applications include Nakhon Ratchasima with 91, Bangkok with 78, and Khon Kaen with 55.

          A total of 124 legal entities have withdrawn their applications across 51 provinces, leaving 927 entities with valid applications in 75 provinces. There are currently 583 licensed businesses in 70 provinces, of which 494 have already commenced operations in 65 provinces, and 462 businesses have started lending in 65 provinces.

          As of the end of April 2019, the cumulative approval for pico finance loans stands at 84,022 accounts, totaling 2.16 billion baht, which averages 25,717 baht per account. This includes 41,022 secured loans amounting to 1.27 billion baht, representing 58.88% of the total approved loans, and 43,000 unsecured loans totaling 888 million baht, or 41.12% of the total approved loans. The total outstanding loans amount to 30,896 accounts, totaling 753 million baht, with 3,176 accounts overdue by less than three months, amounting to 85 million baht or 11.27% of the total outstanding loans. There are also 2,266 accounts overdue by more than three months (NPLs), totaling 38.5 million baht or 5.11% of the total outstanding loans.

          For emergency spending loans, from March 2017 to May 2019, the Government Savings Bank and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) have approved loans to provide citizens with access to formal funding sources. A total of 574,760 loans have been approved, amounting to 25.87 billion baht, which includes 532,098 loans for the general public totaling 24.03 billion baht, and 42,662 loans for low-income individuals registered under the 2017 state welfare program with informal debts, amounting to 1.83 billion baht.

          Meanwhile, the Royal Thai Police continues to crack down on illegal money lenders and debt collectors using unlawful methods. From October 2016 to May 2019, a total of 5,050 offenders have been apprehended.

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