PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has significantly increased the use of local currencies in trade with China, Thailand and Indonesia as part of efforts to cut reliance on the US dollar and conventional systems such as SWIFT, says the Finance Ministry.
Citing Bank Negara Malaysia, the ministry said local currency trade settlement with China has surged from 1.2% (RM0.5bil) of total transactions in 2009 to 25.6% (RM62.6bil) as at November 2025.
With Thailand, the share of trade settled in ringgit and baht rose from 6.4% (RM1.9bil) in 2009 to 17.2% (RM10bil), while for Indonesia it increased from 4.5% (RM1.2bil) to 15.8% (RM9.5bil) over the same period.
This came in a written reply to Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, who had asked about alternatives to the US dollar-dominated SWIFT system.
The ministry said these gains stem from frameworks and arrangements with the three countries to promote the use of ringgit and their respective currencies in cross-border trade, forming part of wider efforts to strengthen the resilience of Malaysia’s financial system.
