World Coronavirus Dispatch: Small Thai firms sink under crushing debt loads

Like it or not, most bankers are going back to the office, Luxembourg's PM is hospitalised in 'serious' but stable condition, and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Pandemic pushes millions of small Thai companies into crisis

Many small and medium-sized enterprises, the backbone of Thailand’s economy, are struggling with crushing debt loads that could force them out of business as the latest wave of Covid infections dims the prospects of an economic recovery. Thailand’s SMEs, many of them concentrated in the tourism industry, have been hit especially hard since the country closed its borders last year, sending the economy to its deepest contraction in more than two decades. The situation has worsened with daily cases and deaths at record levels, leading the government to impose fresh restrictions in