Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 10): Reduced foreign participation in Malaysia's bond and currency markets has resulted in the ringgit being slightly undervalued. Aberdeen Standard Investment said today that the undervalued ringgit provides attractive opportunities for investors as reduced foreign participation led to attractive valuation and less market volatility.

Aberdeen head of sovereign debt Kenneth Akintewe said Malaysia is supported by robust fundamentals, including a current account surplus, and the fact that the nation is a beneficiary of rising commodity prices. 

"It is one of the larger, more liquid markets both in government and corporate markets in the region," he said, adding Aberdeen retains a "significant exposure" in the country. "If you compare the valuations with what you see over the last few years, you are able to take positions... the market looks very, very cheap," Akintewe said here today at an investment conference.

"The main thing (is) what are the directions of travel [by the government], such as whether it is focused on fiscal consolidation and managing their debt level," Akintewe said.

In currency markets today, the ringgit was traded at 4.1512 against the US dollar at 3:55pm. Over the last one year, the exchange rate was between 3.8533 and 4.2438.

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