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The Malaysian Ringgit: How to salvage a falling currency

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Originally posted by Year 12 Economist Jia Yi on her blog "Thoughts": The Malaysian Ringgit: How to salvage a falling currency

Before discussing on ways to salvage the plummeting Ringgit, I will provide a brief summary of the Ringgit's valuation in the last 8 months. In the summary, I will contextualise key valuations and dates to give readers a  deeper understanding on the concerns which the Malaysian government (and people!) are facing. 


Summary:
In 11th of March 2015, the Ringgit traded at RM 3.7105 to the dollar. It was reported that this was the weakest the Malaysian Ringgit has fallen since February 2010, foreshadowing a 'looming crisis', with the value of Ringgit close to 1997 levels (the Asian Economic Crisis).

On 6 July 2015, it was reported that the ringgit had dropped to its lowest level in 16 years, falling to 3.81 to the US dollar. When the ringgit was pegged to the dollar in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, it was set at 3.8.

On 12 August, the ringgit fell to RM4.0025 against the dollar, the lowest in 17 years.

On the 12th of June 2015, it was reported that the Ringgit had dropped for 4 consecutive weeks, the year's longest stretch thus far. 

The Ringgit had become Asia's worst performing currency.

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The plummeting value of the ringgit has been caused by several factors: 
  • the lower oil prices: As oil is one of Malaysia's biggest exports, the declining price of Brent crude Oil of 38% from June 2014 is affecting its currency
  • the devaluation of the Yuan
  • Fitch Credit rating Agency downgrading Malaysia's credit rating (but later upgraded Malaysia's credit rating to stable in July 1): this reduced consumer confidence substantially.
However, we should note that  we do not have direct control over those factors. We cannot dictate the actions of China, OPEC and of autonomous rating agencies. Thus, we cannot blame these secondary factors and symptoms for our falling exchange rate. 

But, what we can do is respond to these situations well. 

To do this, we must first rebuild the foundations of our currency by having greater political stability in our country.  And this is where we have been let down. A big part of the reason investors are speculating against  the ringgit is that they have lost confidence in the currency of a country headed by a PM who has been scandalized with major corruption issues. Investors (foreign and domestic) have simply lost faith in the institutions of Malaysia.

We must restore faith in our major institutions to rebuild the trust we had with investors and to boost confidence in our economy. 

Yes, it's a combination of many things which has let the Ringgit down. But there was no reason for this problem to be compounded with an outrageous scandal, dictatorial actions and a complete disregard for the people hit by his actions.

We must take the first step towards the restoration of major institutions within society before our economy can burgeon again.

Credits:
http://poskod.my/cheat-sheets/6-things-know-falling-ringgit-value/
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