With the US Federal Reserve set to reduce its bond buying activities as of January 2014, there has been growing speculation as to how great an impact the tapering will have on emerging markets, including Malaysia. While some economies dependent on short-term capital inflows, such as Turkey or Brazil, are likely to face challenges, Malaysia is increasingly seen as more capable of coping with the reversal of the US bond policy.
In mid-December, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor, Zeti Akhtar Aziz, said that the central bank was well positioned to manage and intermediate any volatility resulting from the tapering of quantitative easing, and had been preparing for the gradual reduction in the US bond buying scheme.
“Progressive liberalisation has resulted in two-way flows that will help towards stabilising the markets, and BNM will be there to ensure orderly market conditions,” Zeti said.
While there will likely be some negative economic effects, there are also potential advantages to be had from the ending of US quantitative easing, the BNM head said.
“We have to take the tapering as an eventuality and it is a sign that the US economy has improved and this would be positive for the rest of the world,” she said. “However, as recipients of funds, we would see more volatility in our financial markets.”
Zeti noted she expects local institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies to step up and play an increasing role in the markets as overseas funds are withdrawn.
Another individual to remain confident in the economy’s outlook in the face of quantitative easing is Edward Iskandar Toh, chief investment officer of fixed income for Areca Capital, a Malaysia-based fund management company. In an interview with the local media January 13, Toh explained that the domestic market had been factoring in the advent of tapering for the past six months.
Growth set to outweigh tapering downside
Even with the Federal Reserve’s tapering as a cloud on the horizon, the Malaysian economy is expected to sustain momentum in 2014, with analysts predicting expansion of 5% or more. According to a report issued by Standard Chartered Bank on January 9, improved foreign trade and continued strong domestic demand will underpin growth, suggesting the economy would be able to ride out the impact of the Fed’s tapering.
Indications that Malaysia could likely experience a soft landing when the Fed eases its stimulus programme came in early January, with the release of the latest current account figures. November saw the highest trade surplus in almost two years, rising from October’s $2.51bn to $2.96bn.
Following the release of the trade data on January 8, Rahul Bajoria, an analyst with Barclays, said the ongoing growth in trade “boded well for overall economic performance”. Should the economy continue to expand, it could attract both longer-term foreign direct investment as well as more mobile overseas capital.
A further show of confidence came from ratings agency Moody’s, which in mid-November upgraded its outlook for Malaysia’s government bonds from stable to positive, while reaffirming both bond and issuer ratings at A3. One of the factors influencing Moody’s decision to revise its outlook was what the agency described as Malaysia’s “continued macroeconomic stability in the face of external headwinds”.
Some impact inevitable
Though Zeti and others are confident that the Malaysian economy can successfully weather the ending of quantitative easing, the tapering process is likely to cause ripples, as has already been seen in mid-2013, when speculation first began regarding the Fed’s plans to cut its stimulus programme. Over the course of 2013, the ringgit lost nearly 7% of its value, its worst performance since the Asian economic crisis of 1997, while the cost of government borrowing also edged up as the focus of investor interest shifted towards the US.
However, in comparative terms, Malaysia has fared quite well – the value of Indonesia’s rupiah, for example, fell by around 20% in 2013. The worst of the impact has probably occurred, and a rejuvenated US economy could boost demand for Malaysian exports, part of the upside referenced by BNM governor Zeti. With its own economy set to expand solidly, and some of its main external trading partners on the road to recovery, Malaysia will likely experience ripples, rather than waves, as the Federal Reserve shifts down its bond-buying programme.
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