The government aims to repay 40-50 billion baht of external debts owed by the government and state enterprises in the first six months of this year in a move to ease the baht's appreciation.
Areepong Bhoocha-oom, permanent secretary of the Finance Ministry, said yesterday that the plans would help to weaken the baht.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called a meeting with economic ministers yesterday to monitor economic conditions, the baht's movement and investment regulations.
According to the Public Debt Management Office's report, Thailand's foreign debts as of December amounted to 358.26 billion baht.
Of that total, 308.50 billion baht was owed by state-owned enterprises (non-financial institutions), 44.92 billion was borrowed by the government from abroad, and 4.83 billion was owed by state financial institutions guaranteed by the government.
Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said the government is preparing to repay the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) ahead of the due date.
The government owes about 34.02 billion baht to Japanese lenders.
Mr Kittiratt said JICA had offered Thailand a loan for infrastructure development, but the government would prefer domestic loans because the country has high liquidity.
The baht has appreciated continuously against the dollar since the start of the year, prompting the private sector to step up calls for the Bank of Thailand to ease the baht's strength.
The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking met early this month to discuss the impact of the strong baht. It said the central bank should look at the possibility of an interest rate cut and tax measures to cope with foreign capital inflows.