20100428 1238 Malaysian Economic News.

The stronger ringgit reflects the improvement in the country's economic conditions and should not be a cause for concern. Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the ringgit had weakened substantially in 2009 but started to strengthen in 4Q09 and in 1Q10.

• "We are seeing levels witnessed before. It had previously strengthened to a stronger level than what we are seeing today. Therefore, we are not concerned. We would be concerned, however, if there was excessive movement within a short period of time with disorderly market conditions or if there is a misalignment to the economic conditions," Zeti said. 
• "We will make an assessment then on further normalisation of the interest rate at the next monetary policy meeting that will be held on 12-13 May," Zeti added. (Bernama, Malaysian Reserve)

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) is very concerned with the labour shortage problem affecting the local automotive industry. It said that if the situation of labour shortage prolonged, the component parts industry would be affected with both locals and foreigners losing their job.

• The shortage of staff in the northern region has reached critical levels as Malaysia could lose out on reinvestment of RM600m from multinational corporations (MNCs). 
• MNCs face problems keeping the local workers with turnover rate at a whopping 25%. (Bernama, NST)

The Cabinet to date has not discussed any price increase of controlled items like petrol and sugar, said the Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. As such, he called upon people to not be influenced by rumours that there will be price hikes. (Bernama)

The number of taxpayers using electronic filing (e-filing) has exceeded the 1m mark, with the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) recording 1,011,703 users as of 26 Apr (+29.2% vs. 2009’s 783,173 users). (Bernama)

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said the property market this year will definitely perform better than in 2009 due to an improvement in the general economy. He added that Bank Negara may normalise the interest rate, but it will not to the extent of impacting adversely the property market. (BT)

As the world economy recovers with Asia leading the growth, the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) is strategically positioned to seize the opportunities presented by the expected revival in business sentiments and the higher risk appetite of investors. Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the Labuan IBFC's central location in Asia made it the ideal regional platform for international investments. (Bernama)

Pos Malaysia Berhad and the Royal Malaysian Customs (KDRM) on 27 Apr inked an agreement to abolish the RM1 release charge imposed on each overseas parcel, effective 1 May. Pos Malaysia Chief Executive Officer Datuk Syed Faisal Albar said it was agreed that KDRM would absorb the cost for the release charge. Pos Malaysia will also shorten the Customs release transaction period to just 1 day, from the current 3 working days. (Bernama)