The government has received a suggestion to float a retail bond akin to that of Temasek Holdings in Singapore as an aggressive way to help trim the country’s RM1 trillion debt.

At a dialogue with Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’ in Singapore on Sunday night, a member of the audience came with the idea and assured that it would be well-subscribed.

“As the finance minister, would you consider a retail bond for all of us working in Singapore... people who have ample Singapore dollars... we will subscribe,” asked the individual from Penang.

The audience member also said the government needed to take some fairly aggressive steps to bring down costs.

His suggestion received a round of applause by about 200 Malaysians who attended the dialogue held at the Nexus Auditorium of Cuppage Plaza.

In reply, Lim, who met with rating agencies and investors, said he would prefer to have the bond in Malaysia.

“There is a quite high liquidity in Malaysia. There is high demand for papers. We don’t mind you participating in it in Malaysia,” he added.

Lim also noted that it is not just the bond market, and that “there are a lot of opportunities” in other areas in Malaysia for citizens working overseas.

“We welcome you. Malaysia is open for business... not just government-led businesses, but collaborative efforts,” said Lim.

It was reported that Temasek Holdings had upsized its SG$400 million bond offer by SG$100 million following strong demand for its first retail bonds.

Temasek received valid applications amounting to SG$1.68 billion for the retail tranche, representing a subscription rate of about five times the final public offer size of SG$300 million.

In jest, Lim said: “When you talk about money I will get excited. If you have ample Singapore dollars, please convert it into ringgit.”

In the almost two-hour long dialogue, he fielded more than 15 questions centred, among others, on Budget 2019.

Asked later by Bernama on the status of the S$15.3 million that had been unlawfully misappropriated from 1MDB and/or SRC International Sdn Bhd group of companies in Singapore, Lim declined to comment, however.

“I cannot answer as it is related to ongoing cases. It is better for me to refer to the attorney-general first,” he said.

On Tabung Harapan, Lim said the account would be closed by year-end and is expected to reach RM200 million by that time.

- Bernama