Weak ringgit in 2023 downed Malaysia’s competitiveness ranking — Tengku Zafrul
21 Jun 2024
Malaysia’s decline in the IMD World Competitiveness Rankings 2024 was due to the weak ringgit last year, said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
He said based on the ministry’s preliminary study of the report, the reason for the country’s drop in the index from 27th place in 2023 to 34th spot in 2024, was the reliance on 2023 data to measure national competitiveness.
“(The report) was based on data from last year, 2023, compared with 2022, so there was a one-year lag. The factor that had the most significant impact is the stability of the ringgit, as highlighted in the rankings,” he said after launching the Centralised Sustainability Intelligence Solution at Bursa Malaysia today.
Tengku Zafrul said the weak ringgit last year had various implications, including the valuation of investments, productivity, and efficiency, which is closely related to the currency’s value, consequently reflecting concerns about economic stability.
“As you know, the ringgit was affected in 2023, and that had an effect on our competitiveness, but now the ringgit has strengthened, and if the same momentum continues, the ranking should improve,” he said.
He said low contribution from the electrical and electronic (E&E) export sector last year also affected the country’s ranking.
The minister noted that exports of high-end manufacturing products, especially E&E, had declined last year, which affected its weightage.
“This was in tandem with the slowdown in trade worldwide, but this year we can see that the sector has improved.
“Trade numbers have gone up quite considerably, by more than 10 per cent in May 2024,” he said.
Malaysia slipped by seven places to 34th place out of 67 in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2024, after ranking 27th in the index last year.
In the Asia-Pacific region, out of 14 countries, Malaysia slid by four spots to 10th place.
Source: Bernama
