KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 22): 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) expressed disappointment at Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz's comment that state-owned 1MDB had been a major factor contributing to the weakening ringgit.

In a statement today, 1MDB said the ringgit had weakened along with other curencies, amid cheaper crude oil, expectation of higher US interest rates and concerns on slower growth in emerging economies.

"1MDB is disappointed that Zeti appears to single out 1MDB for the current weakness of the ringgit. We take this opportunity to highlight that the value of 1MDB's assets exceeds its debt. Furthermore, Zeti will be aware that 1MDB has consistently met, with no default, its interest service and principal repayment obligations, to both foreign and domestic lenders.

"Historically, never once has one company been linked in such a way to the value of the ringgit. We trust that the facts shared by 1MDB and the immediate clarifications issued to date, will provide clarity and assurance to all concerned parties," 1MDB said.

Yesterday (Sept 21), Zeti, who plans to step down in April next year, said the ringgit would recover once the issues relating to 1MDB were resolved. She had said this at The State of the Malaysian Economy and Investment at Malaysia's Economic Update 2015 event here.

“When we look at what are the factors that (are) affecting the ringgit, firstly, it is the global developments. You can see already that everyone is looking at the US Federal Reserve.

“They have had zero-bound interest rates for seven years now and everyone’s looking for the timing of an exit, and this contributes to the strength of the US dollar,” The Edge Financial Daily quoted Zeti as saying.

Today, the ringgit weakened to 4.2887 against the US dollar at 11:41am, ahead of Bank Negara's announcement this evening on Malaysia's foreign currency reserves.

Investors have been closely watching Malaysia's foreign currency reserves, as the data offers clues on how much ammunition Bank Negara has to support the ringgit amid external volatility.