Moody's: M'sia To Maintain Current Account Surplus For 2-3 Years

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is expected to maintain a current account surplus for the next two to three years, mainly supported by exports, Moody's Investors Service said. Its vice-president and senior analyst for sovereign risk group, Christian de Guzman said recent regional export data showed that Malaysia's manufacturing exports, especially electronics had picked up. "That could possibly be due to the competitiveness with the Malaysian ringgit, having depreciated considerably over the past year," he told a press conference on the 'Malaysia Sovereign Credit Outlook' here Wednesday. Malaysia's current account surplus was projected to narrow to between two and three per cent of the Gross National Income (GNI) in 2015 from 4.8 per cent last year. The moderation was consistent with global rebalancing and structural transformation in the domestic economy. For the fourth quarter of 2014, the Statistics Department said Malaysia posted a surplus in the current account of US$1.67 billion (RM6.1 billion), with a net outflow in financial account of US$6.69 billion (RM24.4 billion) and a decrease in international reserves of US$3.12 billion (RM11.4 billion). (US$1 =RM3.64) De Guzman said that for the past years, the export of the electronic products had been moving in correlation with the local currency, with the weaker ringgit bolstered electronics export. "The current account dynamic is also going to be healthy with the removal of fuel subsidy, making the demand for fuel much more market determined," he added. -- BERNAMA