PEG REMOVED: (July 21) Malaysia removed its currency peg to the US dollar for a managed float against a basket of trade-weighted currencies. Bank Negara announced that the value of the exchange rate of the ringgit in a managed float would be determined by economic fundamentals. The ringgit peg was imposed in 1998 during the Asian financial crisis. Investors reacted by pushing the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index to a five-year high. The ringgit gained about 0.7% to RM3.77.
AP LIST: (July 18) Four businessmen – Tan Sri Nasimuddin SM Amin, Datuk Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim, Datuk Mohd Haniff Abdul Aziz and Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad – were given more than 25,000 Approved Permits (APs) to import cars into the country this year. The four got the bulk of the 67,158 APs allocated for this year, according to a list revealed by the Government amidst the controversy surrounding the issuance of APs.
