Malaysia to double deficit to fund stimulus, says finance minister

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's fiscal deficit will nearly double to around 6% of annual economic output this year because of the government's recent efforts to revive the economy, the finance minister told Reuters on Saturday (June 6), adding it could seek to raise the debt ceiling to finance the stimulus.

South-East Asia's third-biggest economy has announced incentives worth RM295 billion (US$69 billion) to soften the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with the government vowing to directly inject 45 billion ringgit of that into the economy, mostly raised through domestic borrowings.