Yes, at least, it has stopped going down. Whether it’s a short break or a potential turnaround we have to wait for the next few weeks. We are talking about Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM)’s international reserves. It rose slightly by RM1.3bil to RM357.7bil (US$94.7b) as at Aug 28 compared to just 2 weeks ago. Note the following statement seriously and please compare this with that currency which has been going extremely strong versus the whole world simply because its economy is showing positive signs. “The reserves position is sufficient to finance 7.4 months of retained imports and is 1.0 time the short-term external debt,”.
Short-term external debt includes short-term offshore borrowing, non-resident holdings of short-term ringgit debt securities, non-resident deposits with the banking system and other short-term debt. This is considered a big fall when compared to the end of 2013. At that time, the total international reserves was at RM441.91 Billon (RM134.9 Billion). As at 31 December 2014, the international reserves was at RM405.5bil (or US$116.0bil). For those who may not know, BNM publishes this data every 2 weeks and it is available here: http://www.bnm.gov.my Feel free to visit and also read the many different articles there. Helps us to understand many more things about ASEAN integration too.
There has been too many negativity in Malaysia recently. Our Harimau Malaya was even beaten 10-0 by UAE. Share market is up and down without any regard whether the company is fundamentally strong or not. Ringgit has hit new lows after new lows. However, I firmly believe everyone should understand more about the banking sector, about fundamental stock investing and most importantly understand what has happened since 1998 especially all the pro-active actions from BNM, especially the current governor, Dr. Zeti. Yes, I remain firmly positive. Please do not follow me. Just do what you believe in. Everyone have their own opinions and many have used their Facebook to state so. Happy following and believing.
written on 5 Sept 2015
Next suggested article: Summary Q2 2015: malaysian economy, Ringgit and Zeti
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