Bond Market Development in Malaysia: Possible Crowding-Out from Persistent Fiscal Deficits?

Abstract

In Malaysia, infrastructure financing requirements can be served through domestic bond markets, including its corporate bond markets. However, financial crises have exacted a heavy toll on government debts, which are often funded by issuance of government bonds. Persistent fiscal deficits and growing issuance of government bonds can become a double-edged sword and result in crowding-out of private bond markets. This paper represents a first attempt to analyze the potential determinants of the domestic corporate bond market in Malaysia to facilitate a closer examination of the possibility of crowding-out on the Malaysian corporate bond market. This paper finds no evidence of crowding-out effects on Malaysia's domestic corporate bond market from the country's growing government debt. Importantly, findings strongly suggest that the well-functioning Malaysian government bond market has served as a strong foundation for the growth of its domestic corporate bond market.