Malaysia is set to phase out its blanket retail fuels subsidy program and introduce a targeted scheme in June as the government seeks to strengthen its fiscal position amid economic headwinds. Subsidies are putting pressure on state budgets for several Southeast Asian countries, which are reviewing subsidy programs as benchmark Brent crude trades near $90 per barrel. Malaysia’s reform was announced in late 2023 after it spent about 81 billion ringgit ($17 billion) on subsidies, with more than 60% going toward retail…
