Putrajaya is still undecided on the panda bond offered by the Chinese government, which was first announced in February.

“The Malaysian government has not yet decided about accepting the panda bond offered.

“The (Finance) Ministry will study the effects of the panda bond more thoroughly before making a decision,” said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in a written parliamentary reply.

He was responding to Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin who had asked about the government’s stance towards the offered panda bond.

In responsible debt management, Lim said all issuance in foreign currencies should be examined thoroughly taking into account the statutory limit of foreign loans, the maturity profile of the debt and the risk of foreign currency to the country’s ratings.

He said this is to ensure that the government can broaden its investor base as well as get its value for money.

The issuance of the panda bond, he said, would increase the renminbi reserves particularly for trade activities with China which is one of Malaysia’s biggest trading partners covering 13.9 percent of all exports.

Despite that, Lim reiterated that this matter requires further study before the government makes a decision on the panda bond.

China’s ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian had announced in February that the China Construction Bank is proposing to issue panda bonds to Malaysia.