KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 — Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) deputy governor Dr Sukhdave Singh cautioned today that the country’s economy was at risk due to an oversupply of commercial space developments within the next two years.
He noted that such a trend caused market complications in other countries.
“By 2018, we might have an oversupply in the commercial space,” he said in his keynote addresses at a conference organised by the Malaysian Economic Association here.
“If we look at other countries, it is such [oversupply] that precipitated an economic downturn,” he added.
Sukhdave also noted that indebtedness in Malaysia now stands at 250 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“If we look at the figures, corporate debt had stayed somewhat the same. It is government debt that is rising followed by household.
“This is something we need to really watch out for,” he added.
Malaysia’s rising household debt is now 89 per cent of the GDP, while the government debt is closing on the self-imposed ceiling of 55 per cent to the GDP.
