PM: FUNDS INFLOW BOOSTS RINGGIT
Ringgit rises not because of stronger world oil prices alone, says Najib
POSITIVE sentiments on government policies have strengthened the ringgit fur ther, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday.
Najib, who is also finance minister, said the Securities Commission had told him that the strong inflow of foreign funds had bol- stered the Malaysian currency.
“A steady inflow of international funds stemming from confidence in government policies has bolstered the ringgit. It is not due to stronger world oil prices alone.
“The ringgit breaks the psychological barrier of 4.0 (against the greenback) and the best performing currency is the ringgit,” he said at the monthly gathering of the Prime Minister’s Department.
At 9am yesterday, Bernama reported that the ringgit stood at 3.8935/8965 against the greenback from Friday’s close of 3.8850/8880.
The ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies, except the Japanese yen.
It improved against the Singapore dollar to 2.9498/9532 from 2.9575/9618 and strengthened against the euro to 4.8490/8543 from Friday’s close of 4.8508/8553.
The ringgit rose against the British pound at 5.4968/5030 from 5.5229/5283, but depreciated against the yen to 3.5431/5468 from 3.5354/5387.
Najib said international bodies had recognised Malaysia’s achievements.
“The World Bank has revised its projection on Malaysia’s growth three times.”
He said the World Economic Forum( WE F) had ranked Malaysia 13th in the 2018 Inclusive Development Index (IDI) under the emerging economies category.
“Under the same category, China ranks 26 and India, 62. In Asia, Malaysia ranks first for inclusive development.”
IDI measures how 103 countries perform on 11 dimensions of eco- nomic progress in addition to gross domestic product.
It has three pillars: growth and development, inclusion, and, intergenerational equity — sustainable stewardship of natural and financial resources.
IDI is WEF’s initiative on the future of economic progress, which aims to inform and enable sustained and inclusive economic progress through deepened public-private cooperation through thought leadership and analysis, strategic dialogue and concrete cooperation, including by accelerating social impact through corporate action.