Malaysian govt debt rises to RM741 billion from RM686 billion end of last year

(The Edge Market) – The total amount of debt held by the Federal Government had increased to RM741.05 billion at the end of 2018, from RM686.84 billion at the end of 2017.

This higher figure now constitutes 51.2% of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP), from 50.1% in 2017.

In a report by the parliamentary select committee on the Budget, the total amount of debt held by the government increased to RM1.090 trillion at the end of 2018, from RM1.087 trillion at the end of 2017. The report was tabled in parliament today.

However, debt as a percentage of (GDP) decreased to 75.4% at end-2018, from 79.3% at end-2017.

Meanwhile, government guarantees increased to RM132.7 billion at end-2018, from RM102.1 billion at end-2017. Other liabilities stemming from public private partnerships, public finance initiatives and Pembinaan BLT Sdn Bhd decreased to RM184.9 billion at the end of 2018 from RM260.1 billion at the end of 2017.

As of May 31, 2019, total loans from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and MoF Inc amounted to RM8.93 billion.