Sales are unlikely to exceed ฿900 billion (US$26 billion) in 2025, compared with ฿913 billion last year, said Ariya Tiranaprakij, executive vice-president of the association.

This would mark the third year of decline after the total reached a record ฿1.26 trillion in 2022, according to TBMA’s data.

The projections come as growth in Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy lags behind neighbours like Indonesia and Malaysia.

High levels of household debt are crimping consumer spending and new investments.

A majority of Thais expect the domestic economy to be sluggish or for the slowdown to worsen this year, according to the National Institute of Development Administration’s opinion poll released on Jan 5.

“There will be more companies requesting more payment delays as the weak economy has really affected their financial health,” Ariya said at a press conference today.

“In addition, Thai regulators have been tightening oversight on companies’ bond sales, making it harder for those with below investment-grade ratings, or without assessed creditability, to issue new debt securities,” she said.

Sales of new high-yield bonds last year slumped 49% to ฿55 billion, leading the decline in overall domestic corporate bond sales, according to Ariya.

“Most investors are still shunning risky bonds of issuers with low credit ratings,” she said.

About ฿893 billion of existing corporate bonds will mature in 2025, according to Ariya.

“Most of that will be able to be refinanced as the issuers have strong credit ratings,” she said.