Aggregate household debt last year at RM1.53t - Finance Ministry

The aggregate debt for households amounted to RM1.53 trillion last year, Parliament heard yesterday.

According to the Finance Ministry, the biggest chunk of the debt comprised housing loans (60.5 percent), followed by vehicle loans (13.2 percent), and personal financing (12.6 percent). The other loans were non-residential property purchases, credit card debt, securities, and others.

“The ratio of household debt to gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of 2023 slightly increased to 84.2 percent compared to 2018 (82 percent),” the ministry said in a written reply yesterday in response to Pang Hok Liang (Harapan-Labis), who asked the ministry to state the country’s aggregate household debt from 2018 to 2023.

Last year’s aggregate household debt was in line with a steady increase from the years before, with 2022 recording 1.45 trillion, followed by 2021 (RM1.38 trillion), 2020 (RM1.32 trillion), 2019 (RM1.25 trillion), and 2018 (RM1.19 trillion).

On another matter, the Finance Ministry said that the B40 (low-income) group is more prone to the effects of the falling ringgit due to the higher expenditure on food and beverages, which amounts to 34.5 percent of their monthly spending.

In a written reply yesterday to Larry Sng (PBM-Julau), the ministry said the government had taken various measures to address the rising cost of living faced by the people, including the implementation of the Rahmah initiative.

In addition, price control measures are also implemented and subsidies on essential items are given to the people, said the ministry.

Sng had asked the ministry to state the depreciating ringgit’s impact on the country’s economy, particularly on household income and the manufacturing sector.

The ministry assured that the impact of the falling ringgit on the Consumer Price Index is “still under control”.

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