Anwar touts ringgit Asia’s best-performing currency, now at RM 3.19 to S$1

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim highlighted how well the country’s currency is doing during a session in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Nov 11).

At present, it is trading at S$1 to RM3.19. Against the US dollar, it is at US$1 to RM4.16. Bloomberg noted earlier this month that the ringgit has gained around 6.4% and is set to have its largest yearly advance since 2017.

Mr Anwar said, “In the past, we were repeatedly criticised for the ringgit’s decline, yet now that it has strengthened, no praise is given. That is the problem. Today, the ringgit stands at RM4.16 against the US dollar and is the best-performing currency in Asia.”

The ringgit had been in a free fall in 2023, reaching a historic low in April 2024, when it was at its lowest in 26 years, trading at US$1 to RM4.78 (SG$1 = RM3.51). This prompted Malaysia’s central bank to pledge support. The currency began picking up a few months later.

To date, the ringgit is at a 13-month high.

The Prime Minister added that positive sovereign credit ratings from S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s had strengthened the ringgit — a sign of a strong and stable economic forecast.

Read related: Malaysian Ringgit rebounds on Fed rate cut hopes

Earlier this month, MUFG Bank strategist Lloyd Chan told Bloomberg that the currency would be supported by the nation’s “resilient macro fundamentals, prudent fiscal management, and narrowing policy rate gap with the US.”

Mr Chan also said he expected the ringgit to trade at RM4.15 to the greenback by the end of 2025.

Malaysia, which is trade-reliant like Singapore, has benefited from the uptick in global demand. Its economic outlook brightened after its biggest export partners, China and the United States, reached agreements during a summit in late October, as well as after Mr Anwar and US President Donald Trump recently signed a trade deal.

While the ringgit continues to strengthen, it is highly likely to affect the number of Singaporeans regularly crossing the border to shop, eat, and relax in Johor Bahru, although the Singapore dollar’s purchasing power may not stretch in the way it did in 2023.

With the cost of living substantially lower in Malaysia than in Singapore, it can be expected that Singaporeans will continue to spend their dollars there, including buying or investing in property. /TISG

Read also: Malaysia’s ringgit is growing stronger, but Singaporeans continue to snap up homes in Johor