The report was submitted to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Assembly of the Union) on Wednesday.

Auditor General U Maw Than said, “Debts are increasing every year. The debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of March 2018 was 38.3 percent. Therefore, a mid-term management strategy is needed to implement the projects with loans within project periods for better management of public debt.”

Moreover, there was a difference of US$902 million between foreign exchange receipts and spending. The Ministry of Electricity and Energy, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation top the foreign exchange revenue earners. Most foreign exchange spending went to paying back the principle and interest on loans, the report said.

According to the 2017 Union Budget Law and 2017-2018 Supplementary Budget Law, although total loan from local and foreign sources shall not exceed K5.4 trillion, the total of local and foreign loans was K8.943 trillion, it said. 

The budget deficit increased K409.07 billion from the previous year, and government treasury bonds and bills had to be sold by tender system to get a loan from the Central Bank of Myanmar to offset the deficit.

The Auditor General Office monitored implementation of the 2017 Union Tax Law and  fiscal year 2017-18 National Planning Law, and supervision of government loans related to collecting revenue and effective budget spending by government agencies. – Translated

Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/auditor-says-countrys-foreign-debt-tops-us10bil.html