KUALA LUMPUR (May 7): Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said today its international reserves amounted to US$110.8 billion as at April 30, 2021. 

"The reserves position is sufficient to finance 8.7 months of retained imports and is 1.3 times total short-term external debt,” the central bank said in a statement today. 

The figure as at April 30 was higher compared to two weeks earlier.

On April 22, BNM said in a statement that its international reserves amounted to US$109.3 billion as at April 15.

The central bank said its international reserves of US$110.8 billion as at April 30 included US$102.9 billion in foreign currency reserves and US$1.5 billion worth of International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserves.

Also included were US$1.2 billion worth of IMF-linked special drawing rights (SDRs), US$2.1 billion worth of gold and US$3.1 billion involving other reserve assets.

According to the IMF’s website, the SDR is an international reserve asset created by the fund in 1969 to supplement its member countries' official reserves. 

"The value of the SDR is based on a basket of five currencies — the US dollar, the euro, the Chinese renminbi (yuan), the Japanese yen and the British pound sterling,” the IMF added.