RAM’s latest State Implicit Strength ratings for Malaysian states released

Published on 04 Mar 2026.

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RAM Ratings has released its latest State Implicit Strength (SIS) ratings and assessments of Malaysia’s 13 states. The SIS reflects RAM’s relative ranking of the general credit and fiscal strength of individual states. In rating a state-related entity, the SIS rating is used by the rating agency to assess the state government’s capacity to provide financial support to the entity.

Structural differences across states continue to shape the growth prospects, resilience and credit profiles. The SIS framework captures these differences by considering states’ financial position and outlook, macroeconomic conditions and institutional factors that underpin credit strength, gauged by indicators such as income levels to revenue-generation capacity. Despite periods of economic volatility and evolving fiscal conditions in recent years, the relative ranking of the states’ SIS assessments has remained broadly stable since RAM’s previous evaluation in 2021.

States in the top tier of the ranking, including Johor, Penang, and Selangor, have generally outperformed their peers in terms of economic or fiscal performance. In contrast, higher debt burdens, continued reliance on federal government transfers and softer growth trends constrain the SIS ratings of other states.

The reports and accompanying data are available for purchase at www.ram.com.my.

 

Analytical contacts Nadia Mazlan (603) 2708 8287 nadia@ram.com.my		Media contact Sakinah Arifin (603) 2708 8212 sakinah@ram.com.my
Woon Khai Jhek, CFA  (603) 2708 8286 khaijhek@ram.com.my

 

About RAM Rating Services Berhad (RAM Ratings)

Established in 1990, RAM Ratings is a leading credit rating agency registered under the Securities Commission’s Guidelines on Credit Rating Agencies. In addition to the provision of credit ratings for corporate bonds and sukuk and their issuers, RAM Ratings also provides research and publications on Islamic finance, fixed income and macro-economic and industry analysis as well as data analytics relating to credit risk, counterparty assessments and other related domains. 

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