Anwar Ibrahim wants to ramp up the use of the ringgit in bilateral trade to shore up the beleaguered currency and reduce reliance on the greenback.
“Investors are likely to be attracted to use AOO primarily due to the convenience it offers, allowing for trading at times best suited to an individual’s schedule, regardless of different time zones,” he told FMT. “It could leverage digital technologies for operations such as online account openings, electronic documentation and automated trading systems,” he said, commenting on Anwar’s de-dollarisation initiative.
“To entirely stop the reliance on the US dollar will be difficult, but Malaysia will be more active and aggressive in the use of ringgit ,” he told parliament last month. Currently, the US dollar is the world’s dominant reserve currency, meaning that countries across the world hold large amounts of US dollars in their foreign exchange reserves.
“If we can do this, businesses may not have to spend on hedging their currency exposure against the US dollar,” he told FMT.