00:00In the third quarter of this year, the ringgit appreciated by 0.8% on a nominal effective
00:13exchange rate basis against the currencies of Malaysia's major trading partners. The
00:19ringgit also remained broadly stable against the US dollar during this period. Year-to-date,
00:26as of 12 November, the ringgit has appreciated by 5.3% on the NEER basis and by 8.2% against
00:35the US dollar. The ringgit's movement was driven by both external and domestic factors. Externally,
00:46the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy easing in September coupled with expectations of further
00:52rate cuts amid the growing concerns over the US economy's outlook. This helps support the
00:58ringgit. Additionally, a reduction in tariff-related uncertainties, although they remain elevated,
01:05provide further support to the ringgit during the quarter. On the domestic front, Malaysia's
01:11positive economic prospects, together with the government's commitments on the structural reforms
01:16and fiscal sustainability have also become more visible, and this will continue to provide
01:22the medium-term support to our ringgit. BDM will also continue to ensure the orderly functioning
01:29of the domestic foreign exchange market and two-way flow through the coordinated efforts with the
01:34government and corporates. And this includes through the full implementation of the Qualified Resident
01:41Investor or QRI program, which was rolled out in July this year. The program, which provides foreign
01:48exchange policy flexibility to encourage resident corporates to repatriate foreign currency investment
01:53income and convert into ringgit, this has yielded encouraging results. As at the third quarter of this
02:00year, more than US$2 billion of inflows have been recorded under this program. In the third quarter of this year,
02:09looking at credit growth, credit growth to the private non-financial sector expanded by 5.9%,
02:16following an increase in credit to businesses, and this was supported by higher growth in outstanding
02:23corporate bonds and business loans, which grew by 7.3% and 5.4% respectively in the quarter.
02:31The higher growth in outstanding business loans was mainly driven by increase in investment-related
02:37loans, particularly among the non-SMEs. For households, outstanding loans grew by 5.7% amid some moderation
02:48in loan growth for personal use. The average lending rates on outstanding loans, which includes household
02:55and business loans, declined by 21 basis points, and this reflects an effective pass-through from the
03:01recent 25 basis points reduction in the OPR that we took in July this year.
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