Malaysia ringgit hits 3-yr low on outflows, then rebounds on debt sale
* Malaysian bonds of $2.9 bln due on Wednesday * 7-year govt bond sale attracts investors * Ringgit cuts losses after new bond issuance By Jongwoo Cheon and Umesh Desai SINGAPORE/HONG KONG, July 30 (Reuters) - The Malaysian ringgit hit a fresh three-year low early Tuesday due to redemption of maturing bonds, but it turned higher on strong demand for new government bonds, which should help the currency strengthen further Early in the day, the ringgit lost 0.3 percent to 3.2365 per dollar, its weakest since July 1, 2010, pressured by bond outflows. The local currency touched 2.5520 to the Singapore dollar, the weakest since July 1998. Pushing down the ringgit were concerns on outflows, as 9.2 billion ringgit ($2.9 billion) worth of government bonds are due on Wednesday, according to the central bank data. However, the Malaysian currency turned slightly higher, to 3.2230 as of 0605 GMT, compared with Monday's close of 3.2260, as agent banks of the central bank were spotted selling dollars and some investors covered short positions, traders said. The country sold 4.5 billion ringgit in 7-year government bonds at an average yield of 3.889 percent with the bid-to-cover ratio at 1.91 times. The ratio was higher than the 1.73 at an auction earlier this month for bonds maturing in 2023, even though the yield for the shorter maturity was higher. "This is similar to recent U.S. Treasury auctions as well," said Melody Lim, strategist at OSK-DMG in Singapore. "Rates are on a normalising trend and the higher yields have indeed attracted more investors." There were indications that holders of the bonds maturing this week put money back into the government bonds but at the same time demanded a higher yield. Last week, the bid-to-cover ratio at a U.S. Treasury auction of seven-year notes was the lowest since May 2009. U.S. Treasury yields have increased to the higher end of their recent range on fears the Fed may start to spell out plans to reduce buying. Most expect the Fed to start tapering in September. One trader said he believes that "feared outflows from maturity of 9.24 billion ringgit of Malaysian Government Securities should be mostly done by now." "We expect to see some relief rally in MGS with fears of a poor auction proven unfounded," the trader added. The 5-year swaps eased by 5 basis points for the day so far to 3.75/71 last from 3.80/75 in the morning.
REBOUND AFTER REDEMPTION? The ringgit may well rebound once the maturity repatriation is completed, traders and analysts said. "There is some probability that dollar/ringgit may fall after the big maturity of the government bond," said Saktiandi Supaat, head of FX research for Maybank in Singapore Supaat said the pair may head to as low as 3.160, although it depends on how the maturity pans out. A senior Malaysian bank trader in Kuala Lumpur also expected the ringgit to strengthen above 3.2200, saying that some overseas speculators built up bearish positions in the currency to cover bond outflows. The ringgit has lost 2.0 percent against the dollar this month, becoming the second-worst performing emerging Asian currency after the Indonesian rupiah, according to Thomson Reuters data. Still, it is premature to expect the Malaysian currency and bonds to stabilise at a time of caution over the Federal Reserve's planned reduction in monetary stimulus and weaker domestic economic fundamentals, some analysts said. Earlier this month, Malaysia's central bank warned that a weak global environment may hurt growth. "Even though we had some inflows, there is an enough risk to see outflows in the fourth quarter again as we will see Fed exit talk," said Yuna Park, a currency and bond analyst at Dongbu Securities in Seoul. "A high foreign holdings is very risky as it will increase volatility." With Malaysian debt attracting sizable inflows between April and May, foreign holdings stood around 32 percent of outstanding debt and 34 percent of reserves based on the latest data, according to a BNP Paribas note. (Additional reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in KUALA LUMPUR; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
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发表于 31-7-2013 07:59 AM
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财政部长一职在独立初期是由联盟或国阵成员党马华公会领袖出任，并在1974年后由巫统领袖取而代之，并牢牢控制至今。这变化也意味财政部的职责已由控制政府支出，转变为依据巫统政治利益重新分配财经资源，开启了政商挂钩的年代。
我国首两任财长是由马华领袖李孝式（右图）和陈修信出任。他们是在马华和巫统非正式协议之下出掌此职，当时马华仍能在联盟内和巫统平起平坐。 
陈修信（左图）是服务任期最久的财长，在1959年至1974年之间任职，并曾在1969年至1970年间因马华在大选中惨败而退出内阁。陈修信和东姑阿都拉曼有良好的合作关系，并获得后者的充分信任。他在财政部任职期间谨慎控制政府的支出，甚至被指近乎吝啬。 
经历当时副首相敦胡申翁的两年看守，东姑拉沙里（左图）也在前者升任第三任首相时受委为财长。他在任期内成立了许多国有企业包括国油和国家贸易企业机构（PERNAS），以提升土著在企业界的参与权。
接任财长的达因（左图）更加剧巫统党内的政商勾结。通过私营化政策，许多公共服务都落入达因亲密伙伴如拥有玲珑集团的哈林沙辖，以及拥有马航和西尔康（现今的天地通）的达祖丁南里。 
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