KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s industry players and exporters should be able manage the depreciating ringgit as they have survived previous economic downturns.
“We have to trust the fact that industry players and exporters in the country understand the exchange rate,” said Malaysia External Trade Development Corp’s (Matrade) chief executive officer Datuk Dr Wong Lai Sum.
“Of course, they sometimes like to make noise, but on the whole, they know how to factor things through. I’d like to think that Malaysian businessmen are shrewd and would not make losses,” Wong said at a media luncheon organised by Matrade, here, yesterday.
She said looking at the first 10 months of this year and comparing the exchange rate with the same period in 2013, the average loss was only 3.8 per cent of the average value.
“We had a good run at the beginning of the year. The exchange rate to the US dollar at the beginning of the year was RM3.30, now it is RM3.49 or RM3.50 — it has not gone up that much,” she said.
Wong said the impact of falling oil prices was greater than that of the exchange rate and the weaker ringgit would make exports more competitive.
She said the global economic slowdown will have an impact on Malaysia’s exports next year.
“I hope the impact won’t have a deep negative effect... Matrade will be taking Malaysian companies to international trade shows, especially businesses from ‘anti-inflationary sectors’ and those which have a great potential for the export markets,” she said.
