KUALA LUMPUR (Sep 1): Shares of Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) fell 3.3% or 18 sen to RM5.28 as the stock was among the top losers on the local bourse this morning.

Year to date, the counter has lost some 28%. It had hit an all-time low of RM4.11 on March 19 following the government’s announcement of a movement control order, before bouncing back to current levels.

The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar this morning, rebounding on renewed buying interest for the local unit, Bernama said quoting a dealer.

As at 11am, the local currency was quoted at 4.1475 against the greenback compared to 4.1630 last Friday. The market was closed on Monday for the Independence Day celebration.

According to PetChem’s quarterly earnings report notes to Bursa Malaysia, it said the main underlying economic currencies of the group’s cash flows are the ringgit and US dollar.

It said it is exposed to varying levels of foreign exchange risk when it enters into transactions that are not denominated in the respective companies’ functional currencies and when foreign currency monetary assets and liabilities are retranslated at the reporting date.

“The group’s foreign exchange management policies aim to minimise transactional exposure arising from currency movements. The group mainly relies on the natural hedge arising from most of its revenue and expenses being denominated in US dollar,” it said.

Edited by Surin Murugiah