Phnom Penh (FN), Jan. 25 – As of 2022, Cambodia had USD 9.9 billion public debt, the lowest among ASEAN countries, following Brunei.

Cambodian secretary of state of the Ministry of Economy Vongsey Visoth spoke in a public forum on macroeconomic management and budget law 2023, held on Wednesday morning (Jan 25) at Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra.

"Cambodia's debt is still the lowest in ASEAN countries. Each Cambodian person owes about USD 600. However, the debt of the United States is more than 120 percent of the GDP. Each person owes about USD 100,000," Visoth underscored.

For the national budget law 2023, the Royal Government has the plan to spend about USD 9.6 billion, of which revenue will reach USD 7.2 billion. USD 1.8 billion is allocated from public debt, and USD 600 million from savings.

Cambodia plans to borrow USD 1.8 billion from foreign and domestic partners, which is not equal to 20 percent of the total expenditure in 2023. Comparing to 1995, Cambodia heavily relied on the external budget, up to 75 percent. Nowadays, Cambodia owns 83 percent of the total budget, relying on the external budget only around 17 percent.
=FRESH NEWS