KUALA LUMPUR — The ringgit has been Asia’s best-performing currency for two consecutive years, in part, due to Putrajaya’s commitment to policy reforms and sustained engagement with firms and fund managers, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said although the US-Israel war on Iran has shaken global markets, driven up energy prices and pushed capital out of some markets, global funds had bought over US$2 billion in Malaysian bonds, the highest inflow in ten months.
“The ringgit has been Asia’s best-performing currency for two consecutive years, while Malaysia’s economy grew 5.2 per cent last year.
“Malaysia has attracted record levels of investment, driven by manufacturing, semiconductors and aerospace. None of this arrived without effort,” Bernama reported him saying at the opening ceremony of Defence Services Asia (DSA) and National Security Asia (NATSEC) 2026 here today.
Investors are spoiled for choice as to where they put their money and their manufacturing, but Malaysia has shown that it “follows through on what it commits to”, Anwar added.
“They have seen an economy that held its ground while conditions around it deteriorated and they have seen something that Malaysians do not say often enough: that this country makes things the world genuinely depends on,” he said.
Anwar said companies in Malaysia manufacture wing structures for some of the most widely flown commercial aircraft in the world.
“They produce precision components for aero-engines on long-haul routes across every continent,” he added.
For instance, he pointed out that semiconductor plants in Penang and Kulim handle assembly, testing and packaging for chips embedded in defence and security systems.
“One Malaysian-owned company holds Tier-1 supplier status with a leading global aero-engine manufacturer, producing here in Malaysia components that only a small number of countries are trusted to make,” Anwar said. – April 20, 2026