Still struggling. Close friends said hold on, since bought already. But calculations, facts, data and other investors' opinions (non-biased, based strictly on figures rather than feelings) all point to a greater chance of bigger losses in future if hold onto it.
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Exchange Rates for RM
- Thread starter crystal_tiong
- Start date
Still struggling. Close friends said hold on, since bought already. But calculations, facts, data and other investors' opinions (non-biased, based strictly on figures rather than feelings) all point to a greater chance of bigger losses in future if hold onto it.
What development is yours? If analysts are really so good, they don't need to be analysts, and can go into investments full-time.
In term of S$, if the rate keeps declining, you are still losing value although your loan payments get cheaper. You are only less hit compared to those who have paid in full.
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Those that bought years ago would have lost a bit on their down payment & instalment via weakening RM$. But if RM$ keep the downward bias, even the current instalment that enjoy the weak RM$ will still lead to losses when you disposed of the property upon retiring of the entire loan quantum.
Obvious winner are those with no big ticket item committed.
Obvious winner are those with no big ticket item committed.
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Yes, I agree with this point and have been highlighting it in this forum. It's something I didn't consider in the past. Most agents who try to sell you Malaysian properties will convince you that it's time to rejoice because you are buying the properties cheaper due to the favorable exchange rate. But that's not the full picture.
For RM, I can't remember of a time when it got weak and then rebounded and got stronger against the SGD. It has been declining over the years. In just the last 2 years, the loss is already 13%. Some may say as long as you have not fully paid the loan, you can still enjoy the declining currency. That's true initially, but a time will come when you will collect rental or sell your property at an even lower exchange rate than you paid the loan. Of course no one can predict a future situation but we base a reasonable deduction from many past years data as a guide.
Given the high oversupply, it is very unlikely the properties can be sold 40-50% higher in the next many years to give yourself some margin of profit to beat the FX loss. We have also not considered money that needs to be paid for the bank interest and maintenance fees.
Even if buying for own stay, I feel it should be excess money you are willing to lose. Just buy, enjoy the home but cannot think about getting the money back. Something like buying a car. It's a depreciating cost.
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I concur with many of your points raised. To get a head start with regards to purchasing properties in Malaysia, one must be prepared to ''lose first''; any future gains from an appreciation in the value of the property and or on the exchange rates is, in my opinion an ''additional'' bonus. Best again is, go over, RENT and stay there for a stretch of a few months to a year and if you still like it, there is still ample time to shop around at your preferred location, choice of unit (condo, landed etc). Why rush when the odds are in your favor, with the weakening ringgit and the supply of units coming in?
Have you seen the prices in KL central.
There are still a lot of expensive houses in Malaysia.
What I'm trying to say is that property investment must have holding power. Over the past 5 years I would say property prices in Johor have doubled after being in the doldrums for years.
So if you can hold them it'll should work out.
Even if the price don't increase you can still enjoy. Provided you like that development and the surroundings.
Never buy for flipping alone. You don't want to be caught staying in a place that you don't like.
There are still a lot of expensive houses in Malaysia.
What I'm trying to say is that property investment must have holding power. Over the past 5 years I would say property prices in Johor have doubled after being in the doldrums for years.
So if you can hold them it'll should work out.
Even if the price don't increase you can still enjoy. Provided you like that development and the surroundings.
Never buy for flipping alone. You don't want to be caught staying in a place that you don't like.
Yes, that's why for those who bought for own stay, I think most will think more about what they like about the properties rather than hoping to make money from it.
Not too sure about KL and the rest of MY but for Iskandar in particular, it's too risky, as I've learnt, to be thinking solely on making money from the properties by getting rental or selling at higher price in future (not even flipping). The odds are simply not in favour.
For those properties in Johor that doubled after 5 years, does it include mainly the newer regions in Iskandar or also those in the old city area?
I have heard home owners who made quite good profits but I think that's because they had gone in much earlier when there was no oversupply back then. Prices soared in 2012 onwards when the herd mentality struck and buyers rushed into Iskandar to buy.
I believe prices of properties sold after that are already highly marked up, especially those who went in during 2013/14. So it's very difficult for them to appreciate further.
Prices are more likely to come down along the years or remain stagnant as news is now out that there are currently so many units unsold and worse, there are plans to build a lot more. It will probably take a very long time and a lot of changes to happen in Iskandar and SG for prices to rise a lot more.
Not too sure about KL and the rest of MY but for Iskandar in particular, it's too risky, as I've learnt, to be thinking solely on making money from the properties by getting rental or selling at higher price in future (not even flipping). The odds are simply not in favour.
For those properties in Johor that doubled after 5 years, does it include mainly the newer regions in Iskandar or also those in the old city area?
I have heard home owners who made quite good profits but I think that's because they had gone in much earlier when there was no oversupply back then. Prices soared in 2012 onwards when the herd mentality struck and buyers rushed into Iskandar to buy.
I believe prices of properties sold after that are already highly marked up, especially those who went in during 2013/14. So it's very difficult for them to appreciate further.
Prices are more likely to come down along the years or remain stagnant as news is now out that there are currently so many units unsold and worse, there are plans to build a lot more. It will probably take a very long time and a lot of changes to happen in Iskandar and SG for prices to rise a lot more.
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Yes... I guess that's what created the hype in 2012 to end 2013. Many Singaporean buyers rushed in thinking that Iskandar was the next big thing. Unfortunately, no one knew the number of residential units that was going to be built vs the demand. Now we know, after the SG government and Maybank sounded the alarm.
At one point, we heard Country Garden was sold like 70% or more. In the end, if the present figures are to be trusted, the actual amount is only 1/3 or so. Out of 9,000+ units, if only 1/3 is sold after almost 2 years, that's very serious. And a lot more units by other developers are in the pipeline in the years to come. How to sell?
Indeed, the pressure is too great and it's too risky to be considering solely for investment in the oversupply climate, among other factors.
I wont deny that pressure is building in the high-rise. But you also got to remember that many of these buyers have quite strong holding power, and they can afford to wait it out till the good times roll. For me, I think I would take the media reports in conjunction with my reading of the ground, and would not rush to sell at low price.
For example, SG media has been harping on the fall in rental and rising vacancy rates in SG, blah blah. Despite all that, I managed to secure a new tenant for my SG condo within 2 weeks of advertisement, albeit with a $300 rent cut. If I listen to all the doom stories, I would be rushing to sell, and incur SSD etc in the process.
There will be rebuttals saying that SG is different blah blah, but one has to understand that in big cities like SG, KL, JB and Penang, the migrant/expat population will always be substantial. There will always be rental demand in big cities, it all boils down to price and location only. For those who say Malaysian expat/migrants cant afford Rm 2 - 3k rental, I think they really should walk around more, rather than reading analyst reports.
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Totally agree with you. We bought to stay and like to stay where we bought. But if the property value shoot sky high (fat hope hahahaha) who knows maybe it might be nice to sell and reap a good profit.
But maybe the iskandar doom and gloom outlook is more for the condos and high rise apartments but not so much on the landed property sector.
I think it's generally for all. But high rise will be hardest hit.
Hold on to your Singdollars!!!!
Malaysia’s foreign exchange reserves fell to the lowest in almost five years, signaling the central bank may have intervened to stem the ringgit’s decline.
The holdings dropped 4.7% to US$100.5 billion (RM383 billion) as of July 15 from two weeks earlier, data from Bank Negara showed today.
The currency weakened to a 16-year low of 3.8130 a dollar this month, surpassing the 3.8 level at which it was pegged from 1998 to 2005.
Reserves holdings have fallen by an average US$2.2 billion a month over the past year despite monthly trade surpluses of around US$1.8 billion, suggesting “huge” capital outflows, said Mr Nizam Idris, Macquarie Bank Ltd.’s head of foreign-exchange
ING Group NV forecasts the RM will drop to 3.85 by year-end, while Barclays Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG predict 3.88 and 3.83, respectively. The reserves have fallen 13.4% in 2015.
Malaysia’s foreign exchange reserves fell to the lowest in almost five years, signaling the central bank may have intervened to stem the ringgit’s decline.
The holdings dropped 4.7% to US$100.5 billion (RM383 billion) as of July 15 from two weeks earlier, data from Bank Negara showed today.
The currency weakened to a 16-year low of 3.8130 a dollar this month, surpassing the 3.8 level at which it was pegged from 1998 to 2005.
Reserves holdings have fallen by an average US$2.2 billion a month over the past year despite monthly trade surpluses of around US$1.8 billion, suggesting “huge” capital outflows, said Mr Nizam Idris, Macquarie Bank Ltd.’s head of foreign-exchange
ING Group NV forecasts the RM will drop to 3.85 by year-end, while Barclays Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG predict 3.88 and 3.83, respectively. The reserves have fallen 13.4% in 2015.
Malaysia’s ringgit takes a wild ride
Leslie Shaffer | @LeslieShaffer1
15 Hours Ago
Malaysia's currency, already under pressure from a political scandal and the oil price drop, really fell out of bed Monday, with the ringgit falling nearly 1 percent.
The central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), has been intervening in the market to support the currency, but analysts said those efforts may be stumbling.
"(The central bank) can't hold the level of the currency where it is, given that their reserves have been declining. Now maybe they're starting to throw the towel," Khoon Goh, senior foreign-exchange strategist at ANZ, told CNBC Monday, noting he hadn't expected the currency to hit the 3.85-handle until next year.
The U.S. dollar was fetching as much as 3.85 ringgit in Asian trade Monday, compared with around 3.8156 ringgit Friday, before the Malaysian currency abruptly strengthened to 3.8460 against the U.S. dollar around midday. That's still hovering around its weakest levels since 1998, during the Asian Financial Crisis, with the currency among the world's worst performing after falling around 10 percent so far this year.
"Domestic political developments are suddenly to the fore and on top of that we have (central bank) Bank Negara, which tried to hold the currency earlier in July at around the 3.80 level (against the U.S. dollar) and using up around $5 billion of their FX reserves," Goh said. "I think that reserves are probably under the psychological $100 billion mark now and I think that is starting to spook the market."
The currency has been hit by a toxic brew of expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike interest rates later this year, a development likely to spur outflows from emerging markets, as well as facing declining prices its key petroleum exports and a corruption scandal involving the prime minister.
The intervention likely has provided a lot of support to the spot exchange rate , based on the spread with the non-deliverable forwards (NDF), or a forward contract in which the parties settle the difference between the spot and contract exchange rates without actually delivering the currency.
"The NDF has moved a lot more than the spot," said Nizam Idris, head of currencies at Macquarie, noting that the one-month NDF is at 3.8720 ringgit against the dollar. "It's clear the (central bank) has been proactive in the spot market."
He'll be watching for the reserves data on Aug. 7 to see just how much the central bank has used since the previous release on July 15.
Others are also worried about the use of reserves to support the currency.
"Depleting reserves in order to protect the current level of USD/MYR could prove expensive as we head into Fed lift-off later this year," analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a note last week, noting that the country has among the lowest coverage of external liabilities in Asia.
In addition, foreigners hold nearly 49 percent of Malaysian government securities, and while foreign investers were net buyers in the second quarter, reversing those portfolio flows could easily overwhelm the country's current account surplus, it said.
Morgan Stanley also noted that oil and gas exports account for nearly 16 percent of Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP), and the sector has been hard hit by crude prices falling below $50 a barrel again. The bank has a forecast for the U.S. dollar to fetch 4.0 ringgit.
Domestic politics are likely to continue to weigh on sentiment for the currency.
Last week, embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak announced a cabinet shuffle, including sacking Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin after he called on Najib to explain the controversy surrounding a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report earlier this month that nearly $700 million from quasi-sovereign wealth fund One Malaysia Development Bhd. (1MDB) was deposited into the prime minister's personal bank accounts. The accusation is particularly explosive given that 1MDB is in debt to the tune of $11 billion.
The Prime Minister has denied accepting money for personal gain and is reportedly considering a defamation lawsuit against the WSJ.
"Fundamentally, the Malaysian economy is not that bad. It's just a shame that the fundamentals are being overshadowed by domestic political developments," ANZ's Goh said.
--Nyshka Chandran contributed to this report.
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/03/malaysias-ringgit-takes-a-wild-ride.html
Leslie Shaffer | @LeslieShaffer1
15 Hours Ago
Malaysia's currency, already under pressure from a political scandal and the oil price drop, really fell out of bed Monday, with the ringgit falling nearly 1 percent.
The central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), has been intervening in the market to support the currency, but analysts said those efforts may be stumbling.
"(The central bank) can't hold the level of the currency where it is, given that their reserves have been declining. Now maybe they're starting to throw the towel," Khoon Goh, senior foreign-exchange strategist at ANZ, told CNBC Monday, noting he hadn't expected the currency to hit the 3.85-handle until next year.
The U.S. dollar was fetching as much as 3.85 ringgit in Asian trade Monday, compared with around 3.8156 ringgit Friday, before the Malaysian currency abruptly strengthened to 3.8460 against the U.S. dollar around midday. That's still hovering around its weakest levels since 1998, during the Asian Financial Crisis, with the currency among the world's worst performing after falling around 10 percent so far this year.
"Domestic political developments are suddenly to the fore and on top of that we have (central bank) Bank Negara, which tried to hold the currency earlier in July at around the 3.80 level (against the U.S. dollar) and using up around $5 billion of their FX reserves," Goh said. "I think that reserves are probably under the psychological $100 billion mark now and I think that is starting to spook the market."
The currency has been hit by a toxic brew of expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike interest rates later this year, a development likely to spur outflows from emerging markets, as well as facing declining prices its key petroleum exports and a corruption scandal involving the prime minister.
The intervention likely has provided a lot of support to the spot exchange rate , based on the spread with the non-deliverable forwards (NDF), or a forward contract in which the parties settle the difference between the spot and contract exchange rates without actually delivering the currency.
"The NDF has moved a lot more than the spot," said Nizam Idris, head of currencies at Macquarie, noting that the one-month NDF is at 3.8720 ringgit against the dollar. "It's clear the (central bank) has been proactive in the spot market."
He'll be watching for the reserves data on Aug. 7 to see just how much the central bank has used since the previous release on July 15.
Others are also worried about the use of reserves to support the currency.
"Depleting reserves in order to protect the current level of USD/MYR could prove expensive as we head into Fed lift-off later this year," analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a note last week, noting that the country has among the lowest coverage of external liabilities in Asia.
In addition, foreigners hold nearly 49 percent of Malaysian government securities, and while foreign investers were net buyers in the second quarter, reversing those portfolio flows could easily overwhelm the country's current account surplus, it said.
Morgan Stanley also noted that oil and gas exports account for nearly 16 percent of Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP), and the sector has been hard hit by crude prices falling below $50 a barrel again. The bank has a forecast for the U.S. dollar to fetch 4.0 ringgit.
Domestic politics are likely to continue to weigh on sentiment for the currency.
Last week, embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak announced a cabinet shuffle, including sacking Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin after he called on Najib to explain the controversy surrounding a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report earlier this month that nearly $700 million from quasi-sovereign wealth fund One Malaysia Development Bhd. (1MDB) was deposited into the prime minister's personal bank accounts. The accusation is particularly explosive given that 1MDB is in debt to the tune of $11 billion.
The Prime Minister has denied accepting money for personal gain and is reportedly considering a defamation lawsuit against the WSJ.
"Fundamentally, the Malaysian economy is not that bad. It's just a shame that the fundamentals are being overshadowed by domestic political developments," ANZ's Goh said.
--Nyshka Chandran contributed to this report.
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/03/malaysias-ringgit-takes-a-wild-ride.html
The oil supermajors have started retrenching (latest is Shell http://royaldutchshellplc.com/category/shell-job-cuts/), which is a sign that they forecast oil price will be low for the next 1-2 years. So Malaysia government revenue is likely to continue suffering. RM has so far weaken back to 2.80 against SGD, and from the report above, BNM should be reducing its intervention to prop up the RM ahead and this might cause RM to weaken further. There could be capital control to stabilise the RM.
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So what will happen once capital control is imposed?
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2014
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- 487
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PETALING JAYA: Speculation that the strength of the ringgit will continue to weaken has led to many stocking up on US and Singapore dollars in the hopes of a profitable cash-out in the near future.
There is an obvious increase in demand for both currencies lately, with some moneychan*gers even running dry.
Imbasan Kapital at Ikano Power Centre was left with just US$1,500 when The Star paid it a visit yesterday and its staff revealed that not many customers were selling the currency to them at the moment.
Spectrum Forex in Nu Sentral revealed that they currently face a Singapore dollar shortage.
“A lot of people asked for the Singapore dollar this morning. It has been like that throughout the past week,” said worker Azlan Mohammad.
A check at Jaya Shopping Centre’s Benchmark Alliance showed that it currently has about US$10,000 to meet demand after having a surprisingly quiet weekend.
“It has slowed down a bit. People are now waiting for the exchange rate to go even higher. Some are hoping that the US dollar could go up to RM3.96 in three months’ time. Then you’ll see people selling,” said Rizuan Sulaiman, a clerk.
Mohd Ali from Malik Maju moneychanger in Subang Parade echoed that sentiment.
“People now want to keep and wait for it (US dollar rate) to hit the magic RM4.00 mark,” said Mohd.
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nati...o-make-profit-when-exchange-rates-go-up-in-f/
There is an obvious increase in demand for both currencies lately, with some moneychan*gers even running dry.
Imbasan Kapital at Ikano Power Centre was left with just US$1,500 when The Star paid it a visit yesterday and its staff revealed that not many customers were selling the currency to them at the moment.
Spectrum Forex in Nu Sentral revealed that they currently face a Singapore dollar shortage.
“A lot of people asked for the Singapore dollar this morning. It has been like that throughout the past week,” said worker Azlan Mohammad.
A check at Jaya Shopping Centre’s Benchmark Alliance showed that it currently has about US$10,000 to meet demand after having a surprisingly quiet weekend.
“It has slowed down a bit. People are now waiting for the exchange rate to go even higher. Some are hoping that the US dollar could go up to RM3.96 in three months’ time. Then you’ll see people selling,” said Rizuan Sulaiman, a clerk.
Mohd Ali from Malik Maju moneychanger in Subang Parade echoed that sentiment.
“People now want to keep and wait for it (US dollar rate) to hit the magic RM4.00 mark,” said Mohd.
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nati...o-make-profit-when-exchange-rates-go-up-in-f/
Pressure on ringgit remains unabated
Tuesday, 4 August 2015
By: TEE LIN SAY
PETALING JAYA: At RM3.85 to the US dollar, the selling pressure on the ringgit remains unabated on the back of two probable developments – first, the widely speculated put option that traders had gone into a few months ago offering RM4 for every US dollar.
The second is the arbitrage difference between the non-deliverable forward (NDF) ringgit offshore contract versus the onshore ringgit forward contract.
As of yesterday, the one-month NDF offshore had an implied yield of 8.2% versus the onshore forward yield of 3.2%.
“That’s a very decent arbitrage yield of some 5%. This is clearly another channel of pressure for the ringgit,” said Dr Suresh Ramanathan, an independent interest rate and foreign exchange strategist.
An NDF contract is a short-term forward contract where the profit or loss is calculated based on the difference between the forward rate and spot rate. It is settled in US dollars and the tenure can be one month or up to one year.
Since the ringgit is not available in large amounts in the offshore market, the NDF is the common benchmark used to speculate the currency.
Yesterday, the ringgit hit a fresh 17-year low of 3.8517 against the greenback. Year-to-date, the ringgit has lost about 8.4% against the US dollar, making it the worst-performing currency in Asia.
Suresh is, however, not overly pessimistic about the ringgit’s depreciation, as he is of the opinion that beyond the RM3.70 level, a lot of the selling pressure was purely due to arbitrage opportunities and the currency will eventually revert once the arbitrage window in both the forward and options market closes.
Last week, it was reported that Bank Negara was attempting to stem the decline of the ringgit by persuading traders to not enter into forward contracts to sell the ringgit.
“The message was to go long on the ringgit and short the US dollar,” said a trader.
This comes as dealers get offers to enter into a “put” option for the ringgit at RM4 to the US dollar over a period of between three and six months.
This means that the counter party has taken the view that the ringgit will go to RM4 against the US dollar in three months and is prepared to take delivery from the dealer at that price when the time comes.
Nonetheless, over the near term, there is still risk for the ringgit, for instance, the high bond holdings by foreigners.
Should the ringgit continue to weaken, this could be a third channel of pressure, as foreigners may start selling off their ringgit-denominated bonds.
The foreign shareholding on the ringgit bond market, via the Malaysian Government Securities (MGS), remains high. With the value of the ringgit depreciating by the day, the 3% to 4% yield that foreigners are getting from the MGS is significantly being eroded.
As at end-June, foreign ownership of MGS stood at 47%, or US$43bil (RM165.55bil) of the total outstanding of US$92bil (RM354.2bil).
“The signal this sends is that the foreigners holding the bonds are still comfortable with the ringgit risk,” said a dealer.
It will be interesting to see Malaysia’s current account position when Bank Negara announces Malaysia’s second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) later this month.
Economists are forecasting the current account surplus to narrow mainly because Malaysia’s main exports will be hit both by the weak ringgit and lower oil and commodity prices. Oil-related products make up more than 20% of Malaysia’s exports.
On the other hand, Malaysia’s import bills will increase due to the strengthening US dollar. Furthermore, Petroliam Nasional Bhd, which contributed some 22% to national coffers last year, has built its 2015 budget based on oil prices of US$55. As of yesterday, Brent was trading at US$51.03.
Malaysia’s revised Federal Government budget is also based on Brent crude oil at US$55 per barrel
In the first quarter, Malaysia’s overall current account advanced to RM10bil (or 3.6% of GDP). That compares with RM5.7bil (or 2% of GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2014.
http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2015/08/04/Pressure-remains/?style=biz
Tuesday, 4 August 2015
By: TEE LIN SAY
PETALING JAYA: At RM3.85 to the US dollar, the selling pressure on the ringgit remains unabated on the back of two probable developments – first, the widely speculated put option that traders had gone into a few months ago offering RM4 for every US dollar.
The second is the arbitrage difference between the non-deliverable forward (NDF) ringgit offshore contract versus the onshore ringgit forward contract.
As of yesterday, the one-month NDF offshore had an implied yield of 8.2% versus the onshore forward yield of 3.2%.
“That’s a very decent arbitrage yield of some 5%. This is clearly another channel of pressure for the ringgit,” said Dr Suresh Ramanathan, an independent interest rate and foreign exchange strategist.
An NDF contract is a short-term forward contract where the profit or loss is calculated based on the difference between the forward rate and spot rate. It is settled in US dollars and the tenure can be one month or up to one year.
Since the ringgit is not available in large amounts in the offshore market, the NDF is the common benchmark used to speculate the currency.
Yesterday, the ringgit hit a fresh 17-year low of 3.8517 against the greenback. Year-to-date, the ringgit has lost about 8.4% against the US dollar, making it the worst-performing currency in Asia.
Suresh is, however, not overly pessimistic about the ringgit’s depreciation, as he is of the opinion that beyond the RM3.70 level, a lot of the selling pressure was purely due to arbitrage opportunities and the currency will eventually revert once the arbitrage window in both the forward and options market closes.
Last week, it was reported that Bank Negara was attempting to stem the decline of the ringgit by persuading traders to not enter into forward contracts to sell the ringgit.
“The message was to go long on the ringgit and short the US dollar,” said a trader.
This comes as dealers get offers to enter into a “put” option for the ringgit at RM4 to the US dollar over a period of between three and six months.
This means that the counter party has taken the view that the ringgit will go to RM4 against the US dollar in three months and is prepared to take delivery from the dealer at that price when the time comes.
Nonetheless, over the near term, there is still risk for the ringgit, for instance, the high bond holdings by foreigners.
Should the ringgit continue to weaken, this could be a third channel of pressure, as foreigners may start selling off their ringgit-denominated bonds.
The foreign shareholding on the ringgit bond market, via the Malaysian Government Securities (MGS), remains high. With the value of the ringgit depreciating by the day, the 3% to 4% yield that foreigners are getting from the MGS is significantly being eroded.
As at end-June, foreign ownership of MGS stood at 47%, or US$43bil (RM165.55bil) of the total outstanding of US$92bil (RM354.2bil).
“The signal this sends is that the foreigners holding the bonds are still comfortable with the ringgit risk,” said a dealer.
It will be interesting to see Malaysia’s current account position when Bank Negara announces Malaysia’s second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) later this month.
Economists are forecasting the current account surplus to narrow mainly because Malaysia’s main exports will be hit both by the weak ringgit and lower oil and commodity prices. Oil-related products make up more than 20% of Malaysia’s exports.
On the other hand, Malaysia’s import bills will increase due to the strengthening US dollar. Furthermore, Petroliam Nasional Bhd, which contributed some 22% to national coffers last year, has built its 2015 budget based on oil prices of US$55. As of yesterday, Brent was trading at US$51.03.
Malaysia’s revised Federal Government budget is also based on Brent crude oil at US$55 per barrel
In the first quarter, Malaysia’s overall current account advanced to RM10bil (or 3.6% of GDP). That compares with RM5.7bil (or 2% of GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2014.
http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2015/08/04/Pressure-remains/?style=biz
Today's exchange SGD1 -> RM2.835 !!! All time low??!
What has Najib done to the country ???
http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=SGD&to=MYR&view=12h
What has Najib done to the country ???
http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=SGD&to=MYR&view=12h
REPEAT : Hold on to your Singdollars!!!!!!
In my post 2 weeks ago and the rate was US$1 : RM3.813.
Today the rate had dropped to RM3.92!!!
The National Reserves had fell to a dangerous level of US$100 billion and Bank Negara will find it very difficult to defend the RM.
Societe Generale had revised its RM forecast for the third quarter from 3.800 to 4.100!!!
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