KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will do whatever is necessary to ensure the ringgit continues to adjust in an orderly manner, which allows businesses to be facilitated as well.
Governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Abdul Ghaffour said the central bank has a number of market measures that can be deployed to boost the ringgit if needed.
However, he did not reveal the measures' details when speaking to the press on the sidelines of the Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) Journey to Zero Conference 2023 today.
Although the ringgit’s level versus the US dollar has touched the same level as the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Abdul Rasheed stressed that Malaysia is not in a crisis based on its strong fundamentals reflected by its economic growth and well-capitalised banking system, among others.
The currency market is operating in an environment of a strong US dollar, and the financial market is further affected by recent geopolitical developments.
“Almost all currencies in the world depreciated against the US dollar, especially those in emerging markets, including Malaysia.
“What I want to highlight is that although we have touched the Asian financial crisis level, we are not in a crisis. It is different from what we experienced in the past,” he said.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia recently projected the third quarter (Q3) gross domestic product (GDP) would grow by 3.3 per cent, up from the 2.9 per cent growth in the quarter before.
“Secondly, we have a strong banking system supported by a high level of capitalisation and healthy assets and they are ready to fund the economy to support the economic growth in Malaysia.
“Thirdly, our capital sector is also very strong with a capital account surplus,” Abdul Rasheed said.
Earlier in his remarks at the conference, the governor said with growth gaining momentum, steady disinflation, the current account surplus and a strong banking system, the current ringgit movements appear to be more heavily influenced by global events.
“And it certainly does not reflect our economic fundamentals,” he said, adding that Malaysia's economy today is resilient, notably in terms of economic fundamentals, the financial sector's robustness, and the financial markets' debt.
— Bernama
