High household debt a matter of concern Letter to the Editor
From Paul Selva Raj
Bank Negara Malaysia has reported that household debt to gross domestic product ratio has risen to a peak of 93.3% as at December 2020, from the previous high of 87.5% in June 2020. According to the BNM report, the growth in household debt was mainly driven by car, housing and personal financing loans.
Should we be concerned?
Generally, a high level of household debt can be risky. A high level of debt increases the sensitivity of households to any shock to their incomes. Also, during periods of financial stress, highly indebted households tend to cut their spending more than their less-indebted peers. This can make economic recovery more difficult.
Malaysia leads world in Islamic economy and finance for eighth consecutive year thesundaily.my - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thesundaily.my Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Malaysia leads global Islamic economy for eighth year 14 Apr 2021 / 21:54 H.
MALAYSIA continues to forge the way ahead in Islamic economy and finance, leading the way for the eighth consecutive year based on the ranking by the Global Islamic Economy Indicator.
Its burgeoning Islamic FinTech and economy sectors continue to flourish, with the aid of the government and the continuous push by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to expand the digitalisation of the economy and aggressive creation of a conducive ecosystem, for which it can thrive on.
For years, the Malaysian government has identified Islamic finance and Islamic digital economy as key economic growth activities to achieve and maintain its position as a global Islamic fintech hub.
Experts: Fresh grads pay as low as RM1,000 a systemic problem, can t just blame Covid-19 pandemic | Malaysia malaymail.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from malaymail.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
HOUSEHOLDS under the Poverty Line Income threshold have received the smallest percentage of government cash handouts in recent years, according to a government survey, underlining some of the deficiencies in Malaysia’s social protection system, including weak verification capacity and fragmented policies by multiple government agencies resulting in more than 60 such programmes.
Indeed, the magnitude and scale of the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed critical gaps in the social protection system, in the form of its effectiveness, implementation as well as sustainability, and involves all pillars of social protection, according to the central bank.
Bank Negara Malaysia in its Economic and Monetary Review 2020 report says a holistic review of the entire social protection system is needed to ensure its continued ability to act as an automatic stabiliser during crisis periods.