Public finance stories from Asia Pacific you might have missed this week.

Japan cuts quarterly economic growth figures

Japan has revised down its quarterly growth figures, reigniting fears that the world's third-largest economy is stumbling amid turmoil in Europe and a slowdown in Asia (AFP).

Malaysian government may announce lower budget deficit figure

The Malaysian government is expected to announce a lower deficit number for its 2013 budget, in line with its target to achieve a 3% deficit by 2015 (The Star).

Chinese local governments set to borrow more

Local government borrowing will become more active as the economy faces increasing downside pressure, but outstanding debts at the local level will continue to decline, according to a senior researcher at the Chinese ministry of finance (China Daily) .

Korea plans $5bn of growth measures as exports cool

South Korea is set to add 5.9 trillion won ($5.2bn) of economic support measures as Europe’s sovereign debt crisis and a slowdown in China drive down the nation’s exports (Bloomberg).

Sri Lanka budget deficit 4.0% of GDP in first half

Sri Lanka has run a deficit of 4.0% of gross domestic product in the first half of the year, though there are signs that more taxes are being extracted out of citizens to cover state spending, official data shows (Lanka Business Online).