The research house highlighted that total debt securities reported net foreign outflows of RM8.9bil in August, bringing down total foreign holdings of Malaysia’s total debt securities to RM197.8bil from RM206.8bil in July.

“The latest foreign holdings were the lowest level since June 2012 (RM187.4bil). MGS became the casualty of outflows,” it said.

In August, foreign investors reduced their holdings of the MGS to RM157.4bil (July: RM165.4bil; June: RM166.8bil) or 46.4% (July: 47.8%; June: 48.5%) of total MGS outstanding in the market.

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Busines...less/?style=biz

Continue from original thread
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3461956/+2500

8/9/2014 - 3.1740
31/12/2014 - 3.4965
31/3/2015 - 3.7035
30/6/2015 - 3.7730
31/7/2015 - 3.8245
31/8/2015 - 4.2000
8/9/2015 - 4.3385

I pity the Malaysian who earns MYR and sent their kids oversea. Gonna dig money to cover the foreign exchange cost

I pity the Malaysian who earns MYR and sent their kids oversea. Gonna dig money to cover the foreign exchange cost

what happens is more will hv to be contented with twinning programs, do as little as possible abroad.

so, can expect more private colleges/unis, higher fees - this has been one of the boom industries, will get much bigger.

Believe the gomen need as much myr out from petronas US$ income fot is expenditure, will allow myr to slide further.

As current inflation rate is low, is acceptable to rise. Bnm is unlikely to take any action I.e increase opr until inflation rate is high. By then increased in opr will kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

For the helpful forummers here who carry a view that the ASM is still viable, please visit your branches asap if you wished to top-up or open booklet. I have made some divestments !

Good luck !

U divest 4 or 5 or 6 digits (excl decimals)?

Parent's should have pre-plan like having an Foreign currency account to hedge currency and save cost of TT. Child's education plan in terms of endowment plan, unit trust or invest in foreign currency funds would able to help as well. Unless the parents are rich, of course.
More debts to follow
'Quote from Fund manager': If government still over relies on Petronas, with the oil price remains at USD50/barrel, it will be bad for Petronas. Real bad.

Only 6-lar, some got 7, .... where to get decimals ? BUt I have not sold all yet,... Listen to him speak on Oct 9,.. then can decide whether to get rid of all or not.

Personal reminder to myself of these meeting dates that will affect MYR, OPR , Bursa etc.

sep 9 umno supreme council meeting

sep 11 bnm meeting

sep 16 (potential) red rally

sep 16-17 (sep 18 early morning here) USA Fed FOMC meeting

Oct 9 - Budget 2016. probably the most impt speech for our local events this yr..

Sep 11 - Singapore Election, for those invested into SG assets.

Oct 9 - Budget 2016. probably the most impt speech for our local events this yr..

Sep 11 - Singapore Election, for those invested into SG assets.

the former, can expect nothing new. same old, same old.
assumption oil price going up to 80
in particular, same billions poured in agri & fisheries projects despite little yield.
incr budget for civil service, bonus; incr br1m.
bigger budget deficit, i.e. incr debt.

the latter... singapore - pap stays.
also nothing new, same old, same old.
more foreign $, stronger sgd.
more msians go there to study/work.
more skilled/qualified migrant workers/investors from everywhere - white, brown, yellow, black...
all that prophesied in last 2 LKY books, grand master's insights and one man's view.

I beg to deffer = I have reasons to believe that with Msia's current state, the PM will rollout some surprises.

Without Mr LKY, the PAP may experience some surprises.

For the helpful forummers here who carry a view that the ASM is still viable, please visit your branches asap if you wished to top-up or open booklet. I have made some divestments !

Good luck !

I guess the question on everyone's mind would be : if you're taking it out of ASM, what are you channelling your money into ?

For the helpful forummers here who carry a view that the ASM is still viable, please visit your branches asap if you wished to top-up or open booklet. I have made some divestments !

Good luck !

Hansel,

<<For the helpful forummers here who carry a view that the ASM is still viable>>

Are you helping or hurting people with this post??  You have substantial investment outside of Malaysia.  Even if you invest in ASx, you DO NOT put all your eggs into ONE basket.  Meanwhile, most Malaysians have 20+% of their gross income in EPF.  If they invest in ASx, they are putting all their eggs into ONE basket.  How could that make sense??

It is VERY SIMPLE.

Do not put all your eggs into ONE basket.

If you want to be helpful, WARN people before telling them to invest in ASx.

It makes sense for BUMI to invest in ASB due to political reason.  But, why would a non-bumi invest in ASx??

Dreamer

I guess the question on everyone's mind would be : if you're taking it out of ASM, what are you channelling your money into ?

Hansel,

Meanwhile, most Malaysians have 20+% of their gross income in EPF.  If they invest in ASx, they are putting all their eggs into ONE basket.  How could that make sense??

Dreamer

AVFAN,... my friend,.. if our PM does not roll out something really good to help us this time, do you think he will still stand up there, shouting unnecessary slogans and unhelpful war-cries just to raise more attention ? What will it further do to his rep ?
What about that economic council that he has set-up that's supposed to roll out something to help this country ? They should be helping him to formulate Budget 2016.
He BETTER have something for us. ... That's what the policy-makers are there for, especially in these times.     

I guess the question on everyone's mind would be : if you're taking it out of ASM, what are you channelling your money into ?

eh, where hv u been all these years?

go back a few budgets, all same, smoke n mirrors, media sing a couple of songs, yell bravo, that's all.

AVFAN,... my friend,.. if our PM does not roll out something really good to help us this time, do you think he will still stand up there, shouting unnecessary slogans and unhelpful war-cries just to raise more attention ? What will it further do to his rep ?
Hansel,

Come on...

1) How many times do you have to be lied to before you wake up?? What makes you think that budget 2016 will be different than previous budget??

It is an EASY and SIMPLE prediction. More money for department of prime minister. Budget cut for everyone else. More spending and more deficit. The only uncertainty will be whether he announce GST increase now or later.

<<He BETTER have something for us. ... That's what the policy-makers are there for, especially in these times. >>

2) Why?? There is no US. He can stay in power as long as he gives out enough money to his supporters. And, to get more money, he will increase tax.

Dreamer

This post has been edited by dreamer101: Sep 9 2015, 09:55 PM

But this is a Crisis Budget, this budget and the strategies within should not be the normal cut-and-dry type anymore. There must be concrete tactics to help pull us out of this hole we are in. It's a Crisis Budget, man,...

But this is a Crisis Budget,

I beg to deffer = I have reasons to believe that with Msia's current state, the PM will rollout some surprises.

Without Mr LKY, the PAP may experience some surprises.

For those gov't guys monitoring this thread, please tell your leaders that this is a Crisis Budget. If the PM can pull us out of this hole we are in with strong policies and strategies that produce results, he will be in the history books forever. A leader who, in spite of some setbacks along the way, managed to produce results.

what crisis?!

dreamer101, I would like your view about those who does not have epf and relied solely on FD, no foreign investment like those uncle and aunties, and those people just started working, are they doom?

Ramjade,

1) Basic personal finance.

Keep 3 to 6 months of expense as Emergency Fund before investing.  The emergency fund should be kept in FD.

2) What is stopping those people to exchange some of the cash to USD?? Nothing.

Dreamer

Exchanging cash to usd cash is as good as keeping your money underneath your mattress.

Ramjade,

It is NOT the same.  It is a form of diversification that you do not get with ASx.

How many times do I have to REPEAT in order to get through your THICK SKULL??

Do not keep your all eggs in ONE basket!!

Dreamer

Hi.... I'm not a good role model. I have a very pessimistic and defensive 'what if this happens' and 'what if that happens' attitude. I tend to 'over-do' my due diligence too much. At the slightest smell of risk, I will disengage.

langstrasse,

He has 8 to 10 millions worth of investment and fair amount of that in Singapore.  As long as he does not lose his money, he has more than enough.  So, please bear this in mind when you read his post.

Dreamer

You sound a lot like an engineer :-)
*gulp*
That does help put things into perspective.
Man you guys are loaded ! :-)

how about foreign currency account? 

how about foreign currency account? 

But this is a Crisis Budget, this budget and the strategies within should not be the normal cut-and-dry type anymore. There must be concrete tactics to help pull us out of this hole we are in. It's a Crisis Budget, man,...

I really don't know how to express myself better, just this, that it's a Crisis Budget.

For those gov't guys monitoring this thread, please tell your leaders that this is a Crisis Budget. If the PM can pull us out of this hole we are in with strong policies and strategies that produce results, he will be in the history books forever. A leader who, in spite of some setbacks along the way, managed to produce results.

Money is the root of all evil.

nexona88,

That will provide some diversification too.

In summary, for most Malaysians, 20+% gross income are in EPF.  Hence, for most Malaysians, they are overly invested in Malaysia.  They should invest / save some money outside of Malaysia and / or foreign currency.

Dreamer

if u r already having myreits, u can always buy some sgreits.

same broker/bank, same process, piece of cake.

cost just a bit more in brokerage.

   
correct. needed to look at sreit

nexona88,

That will provide some diversification too.

In summary, for most Malaysians, 20+% gross income are in EPF.  Hence, for most Malaysians, they are overly invested in Malaysia.  They should invest / save some money outside of Malaysia and / or foreign currency.

Dreamer

Beware of US interest hike. Choose those which is least affected by interest rise

I don't agree to your statement about opening foreign currency account in MALAYSIA or just exchaning money at money changer Why?
1. Bank's exchange rate is too high
2. Money is STILL IN MALAYSIA
3. No interest/dividend
4. Rather than opening foreign currency in malaysia's bank, better I change my money via money changer. More value for money.

Rather than holding physical foreign cash, isn't it better to buy foreign stocks/REITS? Rather than money is sitting at home, not growing. At least somehow the money is growing. If the house were to burn down, the physical foreign cash will be gone in a blink of an eye.

I appreciate your sense of humour, in times in crisis,....  

I don't agree to your statement about opening foreign currency account in MALAYSIA or just exchaning money at money changer Why?
1. Bank's exchange rate is too high
2. Money is STILL IN MALAYSIA
3. No interest/dividend
4. Rather than opening foreign currency in malaysia's bank, better I change my money via money changer. More value for money.

Rather than holding physical foreign cash, isn't it better to buy foreign stocks/REITS? Rather than money is sitting at home, not growing. At least somehow the money is growing. If the house were to burn down, the physical foreign cash will be gone in a blink of an eye.

Ramjade,

1) Which money changer has the best exchange rate??

2) Can you exchange money via money changer and deposit into foreign currency A/C?

<<isn't it better to buy foreign stocks/REITS? >>

3) You invest in ASx.  Do you read your ASx's prospectus??

    A) How much is the annual maintenance fee of your ASx??

    B) How much is the sales charge for your ASx??

Now, if you invest in ASx but do not read / study enough to begin with, do you expect OTHERS to study enough to invest in foreign stock / REITS??

http://www.asnb.com.my/pdf/PRODUK/Master_P..._prospectus.pdf

Dreamer

1. Bank's exchange rate is too high
2. Money is STILL IN MALAYSIA
3. No interest/dividend for FCA / foreign cash in hand

Far from it. Learnt investing by DIY,.. perhaps focussed too much on the risk management section.

Money is the root of all evil.

1) If you look at the spread of banks, it is higher compare to money changer. I use XE as my reference and I found that banks prices are usually way more comapre to XE. Moneychanger's rates are more or less around XE rates

2) Malaysian bank do not accept foreign currency. Ask them before if I want to topup, can I bring USD notes and deposit?
ANS : Nope. You have to use RM to deposit. 

3) Nope. I didn't read.
A) 0 ZERO
B) 0 ZERO
I invested in the fixed price funds hence zero charges. Only very little in the variable price funds. That will be converted to fixed price upon making sure that there is no loss there. (that was a mistake on my part)
Yes I am well aware that they may change to VP in the future. But they have an excellent 19 years of track record giving stable dividends. And no, I don't have EPF.

You still haven't posted your views regarding my statement

Greed is the root of all evils not money.

Ramjade,

1) That means you did not shop around and find out which money changer has the best rate.

2) You actually did some research here

3) If you did not read, how do you know you got the right answer??
   
A) Wrong answer.

B) Maybe...

<<I invested in the fixed price funds hence zero charges. >>

Wrong answer..  You DO NOT KNOW since you did not read the prospectus. 

A) The charges could always be deducted from the dividend

B) They could deduct a fixed amount when you sell.

<<You still haven't posted your views regarding my statement>>

I had answered your question.  Why tell someone to invest in XYZ when you could not bother to do a bit of research on ASx and money changer to begin with??

US stock and US REIT required a lot more reading and research.  You would not spend the time and effort to study ASx and money changer to begin with.  So, why should YOU invest in US stock and US REIT?? You are guaranteed to fail.

Dreamer

A. Could but they didnt. Well, I counted the dividend yearly in my mother's book, there is not a single sen missing. Just to see how much they give and whether it tally with what's being posted in the forum.

B. Again could but they didnt. How I know? Ask those people who withdraw recently. Hansel, some guy who withdrawal few months back. If they deducted a fix charge, it sure would be in the forum. But I didn't come across anything of that sort unlike the FD thread where a missing 0.05% would invoke a massive outcry in the depositer.

A. Could but they didnt. Well, I counted the dividend yearly in my mother's book, there is not a single sen missing. Just to see how much they give and whether it tally with what's being posted in the forum.

It is NOT the same. It is a form of diversification that you do not get with ASx.

How many times do I have to REPEAT in order to get through your THICK SKULL??

Do not keep your all eggs in ONE basket!!

Fixed price fund confused you.
They did charge annual management fee.  If they didn't charge, you probably get 1% higher dividend like 7.4% or something instead of 6.4%.

Well despite it being 1%, the money still increase by 6.4%. So I will say that's  still fair. Your principal didn't decrease.

Say in sep2009, u have rm200k cash n put half in each RM's FD(4% int) n USD's FD(1% int, USD/MYR=3.6). And now after 6 years, u decided to convert the USD to MYR at 4.3, guess what, they give the same returns. I am assuming the USD's FD at 1% or could it be higher/lower due to QE?

dreamer101, I will answer your question later when I am back home and have read it.

There are so many money changer in town. You tell me how to know the one with best rate?

Well despite it being 1%, the money still increase by 6.4%. So I will say that's  still fair. Your principal didn't decrease.

If USD economy doesn't revive back even after then QE and poise to rate hike, we won't see the USD strength like what is happening currently.

dreamer101, I will answer your question later when I am back home and have read it.

There are so many money changer in town. You tell me how to know the one with best rate? Do you expect me to visit every state and ask their rates?

Your answer was just this
I asked you about your opinion regarding cold hard foreign cash. You say is a better option than holding rm paper. This is cash we are now taking. Not fca, or any foreign investment but physical cash.
I asked you about what happen if there's a fire or a bulgar. You didn't answer that. I said physical cash is not able to generate any interest/dividend. It will forever be say usd1000. It will never become usd1001. So my question again

1. What happen if there's a fire/burglar?
2. I won't talk about ASX here since that will get us no where. But say you have physical rm and you dump it into FD for one year. At the end of 1 year, your rm increases. Now back to your physical usd1000, by keeping it say underneath the mattress, at the end of one year, that usd is still usd1000. It didn't increase at all. Isn't the goal is to ensure it increases somehow? Please comment on it.

Say in sep2009, u have rm200k cash n put half in each RM's FD(4% int) n USD's FD(1% int, USD/MYR=3.6). And now after 6 years, u decided to convert the USD to MYR at 4.3, guess what, they give the same returns. I am assuming the USD's FD at 1% or could it be higher/lower due to QE?

Is USD 1,000 worth the same amount of RM between the beginning of this year versus now??

showtime747 already did 10 yr comparison with SGD some weeks ago.

result is same as yr 6 yr USD, i.e. about the same returns whether rm sgd or usd.

but... here is the diff... the big diff is in the last 1 (ONE) year.

so, dreamer is right:
as we deliberate, usd/rm touched 4.3787 this morning.

those who still think "there is no difference", pls think/calculate again.

but if one knows the big diff but decides not to do anything, that's a diff story.

Ringgit declines to new 1998 low on heightened risk aversion

Published: 10 September 2015 10:12 AM

The ringgit this morning hit 4.3770 a dollar, its lowest level since January 1998. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, September 10, 2015.

The ringgit led losses early in Asia as a renewed decline in stocks and a downgrade in Brazil’s credit rating reignited concerns capital will flow out of emerging markets as the US prepares to raise interest rates.

The currency fell 1.1% to 4.3770 a dollar as of 8.13am in Kuala Lumpur, the lowest level since January 1998, according to prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg.

“The drop in US equities, the rate cut by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and cutting Brazil’s rating to junk should push emerging markets down,” said Masashi Murata, vice president at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co in Tokyo. “All Asian currencies are likely to drop with risk-off trading.” – Bloomberg, September 10, 2015.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysi...h.KoulMdmB.dpuf

USD virtually has zero interest rate since 2008 or around the max interest rate one may get is 0.25%.

Then in my example USD FD would be worst off.

One may be better off with investment in USD asset like stock or treasuries or bonds.
But this subjected to risk of the particular asset that may drop down in value.

But the I am comparing the same asset type.

This is the dilemma that always facing by investors.
There is no "safe" or "secured" place.

If USD economy doesn't revive back even after then QE and poise to rate hike, we won't see the USD strength like what is happening currently.

I actually see this coming knowing that one day the QE will unwind but not at this magnitude, I initially thought that USD/MYR would not exceed 3.80 which is what refrain me from investing in SGD & USD.

Over the years, I have invested in KLSE unsystematically, I won some and lost some and felt that this is a no win situation. Maybe I have not mastered the tricks like so many of the experts here. Which is why I am comfortably invested in ASX knowing that they consistent gives 6-7% until the recent scares flaring out like wild fire. I am starting to look into asset diversification and corelation(don't want to be caught in the situation where 1 asset gain is canceled out by 1 lost).

I know of a friend who invested in China Stocks  over the last ten years. With a intial investment of RM1m in 2005, the value rose to RM5m in 2007, then it came down to RM1m+ after the crisis and dingdong there until this year when it rose to RM4m+. When I told him that 1 bird in hand is better than 2 in the bush, he replied that this time is different. Unfortunately it is now back to RM1m+. If he is to liquidate all now, he will still makes some money (may be 3-4%/pa). May be it is the rollercoaster feeling that he is after.
So this would be considered a long term investment but without appropriate timing of cashing out it is just like a rollercoaster ride.

Over the years, I have invested in KLSE unsystematically, I won some and lost some and felt that this is a no win situation. Maybe I have not mastered the tricks like so many of the experts here. Which is why I am comfortably invested in ASX knowing that they consistent gives 6-7% until the recent scares flaring out like wild fire. I am starting to look into asset diversification and corelation(don't want to be caught in the situation where 1 asset gain is canceled out by 1 lost).

I know of a friend who invested in China Stocks  over the last ten years. With a intial investment of RM1m in 2005, the value rose to RM5m in 2007, then it came down to RM1m+ after the crisis and dingdong there until this year when it rose to RM4m+. When I told him that 1 bird in hand is better than 2 in the bush, he replied that this time is different. Unfortunately it is now back to RM1m+. If he is to liquidate all now, he will still makes some money (may be 3-4%/pa). May be it is the rollercoaster feeling that he is after.
So this would be considered a long term investment but without appropriate timing of cashing out it is just like a rollercoaster ride.

Anything that will fluctuate, is not wise to keep for long period. As keeping for long period, it will more or less break even. I still have SGD400 that got during rm2.50 from my friend last year.
Worth rm1000 and now worth rm1200(round up). So if I change it now, I earn 20%

The point of diversification of asset is not about making gain, but to "protect" your wealth, or normalise your investment.

Eg.
You have FD, Bonds, stock.
We know these 3 asset class doesn't correlate each other and most of the time have inverse correlation.
When FD low, stock high.
Bond low, stock high
FD low, bond high

But you still diversify into these 3 asset class, as you always have something to compensate in whatever situation, aka your wealth is more "protected", instead of invest all in stock, when stock market plunge, you lose all, or invest all in bond but when bond price dropped time, you lose big.

MIDF sees ringgit strengthening towards 4.00 against USD in near-term

By Ahmad Naqib Idris / theedgemarkets.com  | September 10, 2015 : 12:02 PM MYT 

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 10): MIDF Research expects the ringgit to strengthen towards between 4.00 and 4.20 levels against the US dollar within the next few months, as the ringgit is showing clear signs of tapering, following its recent plunge.

In a note today, MIDF said the ringgit situation was turning for the better towards the end of August, based on the negative spread between the USD/MYR non-deliverable forward (NDF) rate and onshore interbank forward rate seen during the month.

“It is notable that the spread slumped to more than -200 pips at its recent trough, the lowest level since March this year. We believe the prevailing downswing is related to, among others, the changing market perceptions over the timing and pace of US Fed’s future monetary actions,” said the research house.

It explained that the narrowing of the offshore-onshore spread signals a transitory reversal of the ringgit’s performance against the greenback.

“On this score, we may see the ringgit strengthening against US dollar towards between 4.20 and 4.00 levels within the next few months,” it said.

The research house added that the strengthening of the ringgit will have a positive impact on the equity market and maintained its year-end baseline target of 1,650 points, with upper and lower range of 1,700 and 1,600 points respectively.

MIDF noted that the pressure on the ringgit was building up since the fourth quarter of 2014, with the spread between NDF and onshore interbank forward rates continued to rise and peaked in March 2015, and subsequently tapered down over the following two months.

The pressure returned strongly in June to August, it said, with the rates spread expanding up to almost 1,000 pips in mid-August, with the ringgit breaching 3.80 in early July and 4.00 near mid-August, the two important psychological levels.

At 10.45am today, the ringgit weakened to 4.3475 against the US dollar, according to Bloomberg data.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/my/article/m...t-usd-near-term

But there have been signs in the last few years that the inverse correlation of the above instruments do not prevail anymore.

Hi,...a fluctuating instrument is still worthy to buy if it gives out consistent cashflow. For me, I will just hold it for long term, and with the additional cashflow generated from the instruments (or from my profession), I will plough it back into the instruments if I think the fundamentals are still there but the instrument is dropping in price because of 'a falling tide'.

Cashflow is utmost in my mind.

It may because of massive QE that skew the normal inverse correlation, especially on bonds, whereby bond dropped to extremely low yield previously.