Govt's proactive monetary policy ensures stable ringgit, financial market — Tengku Zafrul

The government remains proactive in ensuring the stability of the ringgit and the financial market, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz told the Dewan Negara on 11 Aug.

财政部长 Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz 在8月11日告诉 Dewan Negara，政府仍然积极主动地确保林吉特和金融市场的稳定。

He said the government, through Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), maintains domestic financial stability through the implementation of prudent monetary policies, including minimising the exposure of the federal government’s debt to the risk of currency fluctuations through the setting of foreign loan limits.

他说，政府通过马来西亚国家银行（BNM），通过实施审慎的货币政策来维持国内金融稳定，包括通过设定外国贷款限额将联邦政府债务面临的货币波动风险降至最低。

“We also ensure that the flexible exchange policy remains Malaysia’s first line of defence to absorb external shocks, while at the same time, ensuring that domestic lending activities continue to be supported,” he said in reply to Senator Jefridin Atan’s supplementary question on the government’s measures to minimise the impact of aggressive monetary tightening measures by the United States Federal Reserve (Fed).

“我们还确保灵活的外汇政策仍然是马来西亚吸收外部冲击的第一道防线，同时确保继续支持国内贷款活动，”他在回答参议员Senator Jefridin Atan关于政府的补充问题时说。采取措施将美联储 (Fed) 激进的货币紧缩措施的影响降至最低。

In addition, the government also maintains the strength of BNM’s international reserves estimated at US$109 billion as a liquidity buffer to ensure an orderly adjustment of the ringgit’s exchange rate, especially during periods of large and uncertain capital flows, the minister noted.

此外，部长指出，政府还维持国行估计为 1,090 亿美元的国际储备的实力，作为流动性缓冲，以确保令吉汇率的有序调整，特别是在大量和不确定的资本流动期间。

“Lastly, we must ensure that Malaysia’s banking institutions remain resilient against external and domestic risks through robust risk management practices,” he said.

“最后，我们必须确保马来西亚的银行机构通过稳健的风险管理实践保持抵御外部和国内风险的能力，”他说。

The value of the ringgit decreased by 6.5% against the US dollar from January to August 9, 2022, in line with the movement of regional currencies and developed countries.

2022 年 1 月至 8 月 9 日，令吉兑美元贬值 6.5%，与区域货币和发达国家的走势一致。

He said various other national currencies also depreciated at a higher rate compared to the US dollar in the same period.

他说，与同期美元相比，其他各种国家货币也以更高的速度贬值。

“This includes countries in Asia such as South Korea, which has fallen by nine per cent, the United Kingdom, Europe, Japan as well as countries that are closer to us such as the Philippines,” he said.

“这包括亚洲国家，如韩国，下降了 9%，英国、欧洲、日本以及离我们更近的国家，如菲律宾，”他说。

Tengku Zafrul said the ringgit’s value performance needs to be looked at holistically and opined that on average, the ringgit’s exchange rate is not too affected compared to Malaysia’s trading partner currencies.

Tengku Zafrul 表示，令吉的价值表现需要整体看待，并认为平均而言，令吉的汇率与马来西亚的贸易伙伴货币相比并没有受到太大影响。

He answered additional questions about the external factors that caused the value of the ringgit to continue to decline in addition to the strengthening factor of the US dollar.

除了美元走强因素外，他还回答了有关导致令吉继续贬值的外部因素的问题。

He stated several external factors that caused the value of the ringgit to decline in line with most other major and regional currencies.

他指出，导致令吉兑大多数其他主要和区域货币贬值的几个外部因素。

“Firstly, the sudden increase in inflationary pressures especially in the United States, where we can see inflation rising by approximately nine per cent. This has prompted the Fed as well as several central banks to increase policy rates faster which can lead to the financial environment being tighter globally.

“首先，通胀压力突然增加，尤其是在美国，我们可以看到通胀上升了大约 9%。这促使美联储和几家中央银行更快地提高政策利率，这可能导致全球金融环境趋紧。

“The second factor is the geo-political situation in Russia and Ukraine, and the third factor is the economic slowdown in China, because China is Malaysia’s main trading partner and its conservative Covid-19 policy has caused the supply chain to be somewhat disrupted,” he said.

“第二个因素是俄罗斯和乌克兰的地缘政治局势，第三个因素是中国经济放缓，因为中国是马来西亚的主要贸易伙伴，其保守的 Covid-19 政策导致供应链有些中断， “ 他说。