Malaysia: Foreign currency reserves reach US$97 bln
The Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM) has announced that as of October 14, the country’s foreign currency reserves reached 405.6 billion ringgit (US$97.32 billion).
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According to the BNM, it is the first time in the last six months that Malaysia’s foreign currency reserves have exceeded 400 billion ringgit. Foreign reserves include foreign currency, the special drawing right of International Monetary Fund (IMF), gold and other assets.
This amount of the reserves is enough to support Malaysia’s import s in eight and a half months, or equal to 1.2 times of the country’s short-term debt.
Earlier, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) forecast the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) will grow 4.2% in 2016, which is lower than the figure of 5% last year due to falling oil prices, domestic consumption and exports.
The growth for 2017 is forecasted at between 4.5% and 5.5% with domestic consumption remaining a growth engine.
