Malaysia applies flexible exchange rate to support economy
The Malaysian finance minister has said a flexible ringgit exchange rate is important to absorbing external shocks to support domestic economic activity.
A money exchange counter in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Malaysian finance minister has said a flexible ringgit exchange rate is important to absorbing external shocks to supportdomestic economic activity.
In a recent statement, Minister Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz saidthe Malaysian Government, through Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), will alwaysensure stable and smooth financial market conditions and take proactivemeasures to provide adequate liquidity and resilient markets to ensure thestability of the ringgit.
Ongoing monitoring has also been carried out by the central bankto ensure an orderly foreign exchange market condition and avoid significantfluctuations in the ringgit exchange rate, he said, adding that the government willcontinue to manage domestic and external development risks.
The minister noted compared to the Asian economic crisis in 1997and 1998, Malaysia is not in a state of financial or economic crisis. Therefore,the government, through BNM, has no intention to peg the ringgit against the USdollar at the moment as the move has a huge risk.
Although the ringgit had weakened by 8.7% against the US dollarsince the beginning of 2022, other currencies have also depreciated at a moresignificant rate, including the Japanese yen, British pound, and Euro.
He held that the strengthening of the US dollar is a majorfactor that has influenced the global and regional foreign exchange movement./.
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A money exchange counter in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Photo: AFP/VNA) 
