Amid rising public debt levels in many Asia-Pacific economies, this policy brief highlights public debt management practices that Asia-Pacific countries could adopt to benefit from lower financing costs and better risk management. It shows that the region has introduced a wide range of initiatives to enhance fiscal-monetary policy coordination, ensure separate and accountable debt management offices, improve public debt reporting, deal with public debt management risks, and manage cash flows and financial liquidity. Yet, available assessments suggest that overall public debt management has become less effective in several Asia-Pacific countries. Multilateral development partners could provide more technical assistance to enhance debt reporting transparency and facilitate the implementation of medium-term debt management strategies that fully incorporate fiscal contingency liability risks.

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