According to Dr. Goh Lim Thye, a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics, University of Malaya, Malaysia’s public debt stood at 1.22 trillion MYR (290 billion USD) as of April 2024, equivalent to 63% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, this level is not inherently risky.
The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) has urged the Thai government to improve efficiency of government revenue collection and effectiveness of public spending as the country’s public debt is projected to reach 69.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2029.
Thailand’s cabinet has approved an additional 276 billion THB (7.4 billion USD) in borrowing for the 2024 fiscal year, of which 269 billion THB is for direct government use as well as for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to restructure debt, reported local media.
Vietnam is recommended to continue to strengthen the fiscal framework, fiscal discipline, and upgrade the medium-term financial framework, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Legislators are scheduled to continue discussing the supplementary assessment of the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and State budget in 2022 as well as the performance of the socio-economic development plan and State budget in the first months of 2023 as part of the 15th National Assembly (NA)’s fifth session on June 1.
Vietnam’s public debt in the 2017-2021 period decreased dramatically from 61.4% of its GDP to 43.1%, according to the latest information released by the Ministry of Finance.
Lao Finance Minister Bounchom Oubonpaseuth has assured National Assembly (NA) members that public debt is still manageable, despite the total amount remaining considerable, Vientiane Times reported.
Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai has signed a decision approving the public debt strategy until 2030, which sets a target of keeping it at under 60 percent of the GDP and Government debts not exceeding 50 percent of the GDP in 2030.
The Public Debt Management Office of Thailand reported that as of December 30, 2021, the country’s public debt stood at 9.64 trillion THB (about 293 billion USD) or 59.57 percent of the national GDP.
The building of economic recovery solutions will depend on the development of COVID-19, the progress of vaccination and the capacity of supplying COVID-19 treatment medicine when the country switches to the new normal situation, said Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung.
More than 206 trillion VND (9 billion USD) worth of Government bonds has been raised for the State budget annually. This accounts for almost 10 percent of total investment in society in 2020 and 28.3 percent of the investment by the State sector last year.
Malaysian Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said on July 29 the country’s debt level was already at 56.8 percent of GDP at the end of June.
The financial sector expects to collect over 1.343 quadrillion VND (58.4 billion USD) for the State budget in 2021, equivalent to 15.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), said the Ministry of Finance.
More than 1.48 quadrillion VND (64.2 billion USD) was collected for the State budget in 2020, equivalent to 98 percent of the target, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Thailand’s cabinet on December 22 approved the inflation target range of 1-3 percent for 2021 as set by the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
The COVID-19 pandemic will continue to weigh on socio-economic development and State budget in 2021 and the years that follow, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said.
