Ringgit May Gain Most in Southeast Asia on Exporter Conversion

Malaysia’s ringgit stands to gain the most among its Southeast Asian peers if the nation’s exporters convert their overseas earnings to the local currency, thanks to the nation’s outsized foreign-currency deposits.

Such deposits in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia combined have jumped to $62.2 billion as of March, close to a record high set in the previous month, according to Bloomberg calculations. Malaysia made up almost all of it and the nation’s foreign deposit growth also outpaced most of its peers.