How’s my ringgit doing versus the few ASEAN / major countries we love to compare?

How’s my ringgit doing versus the few ASEAN / major countries we love to compare?

Baht is still stronger if we look at 5-year movement

Ringgit has strengthened but if we look at just within the past 5 years, ringgit today is still weaker than 2022. Of course if we look at end of December 2023, ringgit has strengthened versus then which was just RM1 to Baht 7.32. This has not stopped Malaysians from visiting Hattyai every weekend though. In other words, despite Baht being stronger, the prices remain lower for many goods, especially the food maybe? I mean even the bird’s nest is affordable in my last trip there.

SGD is still stronger even if Ringgit has gained grounds

It was once upon a time as bad or as good as SGD1 to RM3.55! Bad for Malaysians traveling to Singapore, good for Malaysians earning SGD. Of course with the current set of exchange rate, it is not good news for Malaysians earning SGD lah. Imagine losing 13 percent of the value of your money despite earning the same this year versus 2024… Still, traveling to Singapore is very expensive because even if the Hainan chicken rice is just SGD5 which is cheap for Singaporeans, it is very expensive for Malaysians.

Ringgit is below the usual 3 to 1 which I am very used to

It was even as high as AUD1 to RM3.22 in 2021 yeah. It has fluctuated but has started to show a strengthening Ringgit since the start of 2025 till currently. So, for those who loves Australian properties, this is indeed a good time to think about it because even if prices have remained the same, the actual price in RM has gone down by double digits. Slightly over 14 percent to be exact.

No wonder so many Malaysians love to visit Japan?

RM1 could only get 26 Japanese Yen in early 2021. Of course at that time, not many Malaysians are traveling too due to Covid restrictions. However, we are now approaching RM1 to Yen40. If a bowl of Raman was Yen600 in 2021, it would have been over RM20 and today, it would just be around RM15. In other words, it’s cheaper for Malaysians even if the price of a bowl of noodle has remained the same in Japan. Okay, RM15 per bowl of noodle is not necessarily cheap but in comparison, this is low.

We have gained a lot versus the USD but… (Yes, still a but…)

It used to be as ‘bad’ as US$1 to RM4.78 but today, it’s hovering around US$1 to RM3.91 instead. In all my travels to the US in the past 5 years, I went three times to be exact, it has always been above the rate of US$1 to RM4.3 or higher. If I go today, then I would find that things are slightly cheaper. Why is there a but is because in 2012, we were at the point of US$1 to RM3. Yes, I also wonder when could we go back to that level too.

If we look at our two ASEAN neighbors, Indonesia and the Philippines, then Ringgit has moved way beyond our usual exchange rate. I can feel that food prices are really affordable in Manila just 2 weeks ago when I was there and I will be going to Jakarta in mid March. If prices have stayed almost the same, then the actual price in RM has gone down.

Okay, enough of some quick comparisons. What are your plans with a stronger ringgit? Maybe invest into some undervalued stocks or properties? At least we are deciding from a position of strength for the ringgit. Happy deciding.

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