Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said in a written reply that the sharp increase was due to a new definition for international debt reporting, which had been in place since last year.
Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said based on this definition, external debt now showed the level of ringgit-denominated security debt held by foreigners, which comprised two-thirds for the increase.
As at December last year, the Government’s debt stood at RM582.8bil or 54.5% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
| Malaysia Trade | Last | Previous | Highest | Lowest | Unit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance of Trade | 9011.53 | 9227.14 | 15767.47 | -2880.61 | MYR Million | [+] |
| Exports | 63604.80 | 67692.40 | 67692.40 | 328.10 | MYR Million | [+] |
| Imports | 54593.29 | 58465.30 | 63904.05 | 313.60 | MYR Million | [+] |
| Current Account | 6070.00 | 7593.00 | 39982.00 | 1836.00 | MYR Million | [+] |
| Current Account to GDP | 4.70 | 7.60 | 17.10 | -13.20 | percent | [+] |
| External Debt | 744699.60 | 740662.75 | 744699.60 | 9063.00 | MYR Million | [+] |
| Terms of Trade | 105.40 | 105.00 | 127.00 | 100.20 | Index Points | [+] |
| Tourist Arrivals | 2447845.00 | 2130022.00 | 2806565.00 | 459374.00 | [+] | |
| Gold Reserves | 35.46 | 35.46 | 36.39 | 35.46 | Tonnes | [+] |
| Crude Oil Production | 572.00 | 568.00 | 790.00 | 450.00 | BBL/D/1K | [+] |
“From this, 97.1% or RM566.1bil is domestic debt while the remaining RM16.8bil – or 2.9% – is external debt.
“The Federal Government’s financial debt remains manageable and can be categorised as a modest position,” he said, adding that the Government remained committed to ensuring that the debt level was less than 55% of the GDP."
Aren't we proud of the 'achievement'? But no panic. Compared to Brazil, Greece, Chad, Somalia and some countries, we are much better!
We are still okay, right?