KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s household debt is a concern but not alarming, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala.
Malaysia’s household debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio rose to 86.6 per cent in 2013 from 72.4 per cent in 2009.
“Our household asset-to-GDP ratio is more than 200 per cent, which is healthy,” he said.
The impairment loan ratio had also come down to 1.3 per cent last year from 3.1 per cent in 2009, he said.
Idris, who is also the Performance Management and Delivery Unit chief executive officer, made the remarks at the Invest Malaysia 2014 here yesterday.
Meanwhile, Idris said the government was transforming Malaysia into an inclusive and sustainable economy to offer better quality of life to Malaysians.
He said that was achievable through the gradual reduction in fiscal deficit, reduced dependence on oil and gas revenue and related measures to assist the bottom 40 per cent of income earners, among others. — Bernama