The 11-year-old ban has not harmed economy: Zeti
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(KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysia has no plan to allow the ringgit currency to be traded offshore for now as it believes the 11-year-old ban has not caused harm to the economy, said central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
'There is no great urgency for us to internationalise our ringgit at this point in time,' Ms Zeti was quoted by The Star newspaper as saying on Saturday.
'Right now, it has not inhibited our trade and investment volumes because any amount can be traded and there are no restrictions on the volume,' said Ms Zeti.
Some economists say the ban on offshore trade, the last remaining piece of capital control measures from the 1998 Asian financial crisis, deters foreigners from investing in Malaysia and feeds the perception that the South-east Asian economy still has capital controls.
Malaysia will not scrap the ban on offshore ringgit trade until it develops its own foreign exchange market, said Ms Zeti.
A foreign exchange market is 'a major pre-condition to the internationalisation of our currency', she said. -- Reuters
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