Malaysia to double deficit to fund stimulus, says finance minister

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

Southeast Asia's third-biggest economy has announced incentives worth RM295 billion to soften the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with the government vowing to directly inject RM45 billion of that into the economy, mostly raised through domestic borrowings.