By Marcus Wong
(Bloomberg) – The ringgit is set for its longest winning streak in 14 years on optimism surrounding Malaysia’s economy and foreign fund inflows.
The local currency rose 1.6% against the dollar on Friday, gaining for the 10th straight day, its best run since 2010.
After three years of losses, the ringgit is outperforming its Asian peers in 2024 as the government drove policies to boost foreign investments and began rolling back subsidies to narrow the budget deficit. That’s helped to lure back interest from global funds, who poured $112 million into local stocks this year.
The Southeast Asian country’s economic recovery is also gathering pace, with second-quarter gross domestic product beating all estimates, supported by improving exports.
“We believe the economic growth projections of four to five percent in 2024 can be achieved and may go to a higher level,” a Bernama report cited second finance minister Amir Hamzah Azizan as saying on Thursday. He added that the local currency is set to strengthen further.
The ringgit was trading at a one-year high at 4.4970 per dollar at 4:50 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur.
The currency’s “outperformance can continue given the better optimism amid bold fiscal reforms, strong growth and rising foreign investor interest,” Malayan Banking Bhd. analysts including Saktiandi Supaat wrote in a report on Thursday.
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