Treasury: Malaysia’s debt-to-GDP ratio down to 51pc

The Malay Mail Online, 18 June 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — The Finance Ministry today said the national debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio was down to RM596.8 billion or 51 per cent as at the end of March 2015.

In a written reply to PKR’s Indera Mahkota MP Datuk Fauzi Abdul Rahman, the ministry said 97 per cent of the debt or RM579.2 billion was in domestic debt, while the rest at RM17.6 billion was foreign-held.

The ministry said Putrajaya has issued letters of guarantee worth RM172 billion, or 14.7 per cent of the GDP, by the end of 2014.

Most of the guarantees were given to public infrastructure firms such as Danainfra Nasional Bhd and Prasarana Malaysia Bhd under the Loans Guarantee (Bodies Corporate) Act 1965, it said.

The ministry added that Putrajaya also gave out US$3 billion (RM11.2 billion) worth in letters of support.

In March this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said that Putrajaya’s external debt at end-December 2014 stood at RM582.8 billion (or 54.5 per cent of GDP), of which RM566.1 billion (97.1 per cent) was domestic debt while the remaining RM16.8 billion (2.9 per cent) was in offshore loans.

(Web source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/treasury-malaysias-debt- to-gdp-ratio-down-to-51pc)