John Fraher and Adrian Cox
Monday, January 28, 2007
Bloomberg
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said his country has shifted some of its $82 billion of currency reserves away from the dollar and that potential foreign-exchange volatility may hurt exporters.
``We're concerned for the reason that the high percentage of our international trade is in U.S. dollars,'' said Abdullah today in an interview in Davos, Switzerland at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. When asked whether Malaysia will cut its dollar holdings, he said: ``We have already done. We'll continue to watch the situation.''
Abdullah's comments reflect concern that lopsided trade flows between the U.S. and the rest of the world will weaken the dollar. The U.S. currency has dropped 6 percent against the euro in the past year. Kuwaiti Finance Minister Bader al-Humaidhi said on Jan. 24 that the third-largest Arab oil producer may abandon the dinar's peg against the dollar in favor of a basket.
...``Overdependence on one currency can create a problem, the dollar or any other currency,'' said Abdullah. He declined to comment further on the country's foreign exchange policy or his favored currencies.
...Abdullah also called on U.S. and European ministers meeting in Davos today to unblock stalled World Trade Organizations talks on dismantling trade barriers.
``The U.S. and the Europeans have a very important role to play,'' he said. ``A lot of things are stuck here because of these giants. If we can't have it globally then people do it bilaterally or multilaterally.''
Monday, January 28, 2007
Bloomberg
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said his country has shifted some of its $82 billion of currency reserves away from the dollar and that potential foreign-exchange volatility may hurt exporters.
``We're concerned for the reason that the high percentage of our international trade is in U.S. dollars,'' said Abdullah today in an interview in Davos, Switzerland at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. When asked whether Malaysia will cut its dollar holdings, he said: ``We have already done. We'll continue to watch the situation.''
Abdullah's comments reflect concern that lopsided trade flows between the U.S. and the rest of the world will weaken the dollar. The U.S. currency has dropped 6 percent against the euro in the past year. Kuwaiti Finance Minister Bader al-Humaidhi said on Jan. 24 that the third-largest Arab oil producer may abandon the dinar's peg against the dollar in favor of a basket.
...``Overdependence on one currency can create a problem, the dollar or any other currency,'' said Abdullah. He declined to comment further on the country's foreign exchange policy or his favored currencies.
...Abdullah also called on U.S. and European ministers meeting in Davos today to unblock stalled World Trade Organizations talks on dismantling trade barriers.
``The U.S. and the Europeans have a very important role to play,'' he said. ``A lot of things are stuck here because of these giants. If we can't have it globally then people do it bilaterally or multilaterally.''
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