Ringgit and Philippine peso lead Asian currency rally

"Malaysia deserves better, certainly not RM4.50 to US$1.".

KUALA LUMPUR: Better late than never. The Philippine peso and ringgit have clambered aboard the Asian currency rally, advancing against the dollar and spurring flows into equity markets.

Global funds have poured US$485mil (RM2bil) into Malaysian stocks and US$198mil into the Philippines since the end of March as the countries’ currencies strengthened 2% and 0.5% respectively. That’s a dramatic turnaround considering both declined more than 4% in 2016 and hit decade lows this year.