Malaysia's external debts tripled to RM740 billion - Dewan Rakyat

Malaysia’s external debts tripled to RM740 billion in the third quarter of last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in a written reply today.

The amount was RM196 billion in the first quarter of last year.

In a written reply to William Leong (PKR-Selayang), Najib who is also the Finance Minister said the high increase was a result of "new definitions" for external debts.

“Two-thirds of the increase was due to foreigners holding on to Malaysian bonds, now considered as part of the external debts,” he said in the reply.

Najib also stated that as of December 2014, the country's debts stood at RM582.8 billion, or 54.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP).

“Of the total, 97.1% or RM566.1 billion is domestic debt, while the balance of RM16.8 billion or 2.9% are offshore loans,” it said in the written reply.

Meanwhile, in a written reply to Tony Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya Utara), Najib said the balance of 1Malaysia Development Bhd's (1MDB) fund of RM4,087 billion (US$1.103 billion) which was managed by Cayman Monetary Authority, was parked at BSI Bank Ltd Singapore to facilitate easier withdrawals.

"The decision to use the Singapore bank is to ensure easier withdrawals since regulations set by Bank Negara Malaysia needed its approval for transactions over RM50 million," he said.