KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 — Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) official reserve assets totalled US$101.47 billion (RM416.49 billion), while other foreign currency assets amounted to US$919.0 million as at end-October 2017.
In a statement here, the central bank said, for the next 12 months, the pre-determined short-term outflows of foreign currency loans would amount to US$250.8 million arising from the scheduled repayment of external borrowings by the government.
Meanwhile, the short forward positions amounted to US$11.88 billion as at end-October 2017, reflecting the management of ringgit liquidity in the financial system, said BNM in its “Detailed Disclosure of International Reserves as at end-October 2017” released today.
“In line with the practice adopted since April 2006, the data excludes projected foreign currency inflows arising from interest income and the drawdown of project loans amounting to US$2.48 billion in the next 12 months,” said the central bank.
It said the only contingent short-term net drain on foreign currency assets were government guarantees of foreign debt due within one year, amounting to US$183.2 million.
There are no foreign currency loans with embedded options, no undrawn, unconditional credit lines provided by or to other central banks, international organisations, banks and other financial institutions.
BNM said it did not engage in foreign currency options vis-à- vis the ringgit.
As at end-October 2017, Malaysia’s reserves remained usable.
It said the detailed disclosure was in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard format. — Bernama
