Finance Minister Amir Hamzah tells Dewan Negara Malaysia’s exports remain resilient despite ringgit
PETALING JAYA: The ringgit’s recent strengthening has yet to significantly undermine Malaysia’s export competitiveness, the Dewan Negara was told today.
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said the currency’s gains reflect improving global conditions and solid domestic economic fundamentals, even as concerns were raised about potential pressure on exporters.
Responding to a question from Senator Datuk Bobbey Ah Fang Suan, Amir Hamzah said the ringgit strengthened by against the US dollar in 2025, the strongest among regional peers.
“The recent strengthening of the ringgit reflects improvements in the external environment and Malaysia’s strong economic prospects.
“The ringgit also strengthened between 1.5% and 13.9% against major and regional currencies, while the nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) rose by 6.1% over the same period.
“As of Feb 24 this year, the ringgit had further strengthened by 4.09% to RM3.89 against the US dollar,” Amir Hamzah said.
He attributed the trend partly to global monetary developments.
“The recent strengthening of the ringgit reflects improvements in the external environment and Malaysia’s strong economic prospects.
“This strengthening was supported by the decline in interest rates in the United States as well as expectations of a lower interest rate environment among major economies.
“Positive investor sentiment towards emerging markets, including Malaysia, and continued inflows of foreign direct investment and portfolio investments have also contributed to the ringgit’s performance,” he said.
The minister said domestic growth remained a key pillar, saying that the ringgit’s stronger performance was underpinned by healthy domestic fundamentals and robust economic expansion, with Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growing 5.2% in 2025.
He added that growth in the fourth quarter accelerated to 6.3%, the strongest in three years, driven mainly by the services and manufacturing sectors.
In a follow-up question, Bobbey asked whether the stronger ringgit could hurt export competitiveness and what support is available for exporters.
Amir Hamzah maintained that export performance remains resilient, noting that Malaysia recorded 6.5% export growth in 2025, supported largely by the electrical and electronics (E&E) sector, which expanded 18.3% to RM711.6 billion.
He said major exporting companies are taking precautionary steps, noting that many exporters typically implement hedging strategies to mitigate the impact of currency fluctuations.
