Wahid Says Ringgit Too Weak as Growth Improves: Southeast Asia

The ringgit has weakened too much for an economy that’s set to perform better in the coming months, Malaysia’s planning minister said as a regional markets rout pushed the currency to a three-year low this week.

“Fundamentally, the ringgit shouldn’t be at this level,” Abdul Wahid Omar, minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of economic planning, said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Southeast Asia’s No. 3 economy experienced a “slightly better” environment last quarter than the previous period and should do better in the second half, he said.