Malaysian Ringgit Value Should Reflect Country's Strong Fundamentals, Says Academician

By Zairina Zainudin KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian ringgit could still possibly appreciate further and meet its actual value of 3.00 against the US dollar to reflect the country's strong fundamentals. As for now, the volatility in the foreign exchange market due to the challenging global environment has put pressure on the local unit, said National Council of Professors (MKN) cluster committee member for finance and management, Prof Dr Syed Azizi Wafa Syed Khalid Wafa. Meanwhile, the ringgit, which has been hovering at the 4.40-level to the greenback for the past week, closed at a five-week high of 4.2150/2250 on Wednesday, given the improved sentiment following better crude oil prices. Syed Azizi said it was difficult to gauge how long the uptrend would last due to market fluctuations. "The fundamentals are still strong but the ringgit value doesn't reflect to the strength of our economy," he added. Syed Azizi, who is a professor at the School of Business and Economics, of Malaysian university, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, told Bernama that the local unit should be traded below the 4.00-level. He said long-term strategies like Budget 2016 that would benefit the people would be a tremendous catalyst to boost the ringgit further. This is because next year's budget, which will see a higher allocation as was indicated by Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, can create vibrant economic activities in the country. At the same time, Syed Azizi pointed out the need to also iron out domestic issues to regain investors' confidence. --BERNAMA