The Malaysian ringgit hit a six-week high against the dollar on Friday, boosted by expectations an initial public offering of a local company will attract heavy foreign equity flows. The gains were exaggerated by the thin liquidity before holidays, with currency markets in Indonesia and Philippines closed and trading volume not expected to pick up next week.
"Many players already took leaves for the end of the year," said a Singapore-based dealer. "Markets will be also very quiet next week as investors will prepare for the next year," he added. The ringgit rose 0.84 percent to as firm as 3.0890 per dollar, the strongest since November 11 after a media report on the possible listing of Petronas Carigali.
Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, the exploration unit of Petroliam Nasional Bhd, may be listed on Bursa Malaysia next year and it is expected to attract a large number of foreign funds, Business Times said on its Web site. "Its positive and provides a pull factor for foreigners into the local bourse and this is one of the drivers of the MYR for the MYR today," a traders in Kuala Lumpur said. "But cyclically MYR has always ended the year on a strong note." If the IPO goes ahead it would be Malaysia's largest and could be around $48.3 billion, the report said.
The won edged down against the dollar in thin trading on worries about geopolitical tensions after North Korea threatened a nuclear war. But the local currency erased much of its earlier losses on demand from exporters such as shipbuilders. Won/dollar spot trading volume fell to $3.97 billion, the lowest in 2010, according to data from Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd and Korea Money Broker Corp.
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