Malaysia is an oft-overlooked nation for those looking to invest in Asia.  Right now, it’s a particularly good time for those looking for investment opportunities since the strong currency (the ringgit) is indicative of investors already having positive feelings toward the economy.  As they should given that the region’s economy is looking good.

Indeed, according to recent stats put out by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, vis-à-vis the dollar, the ringgit is really impressive with its 2017 appreciation of 10.4% against the US currency.  Plus, earlier this month, the ringgit “broke the four dollar psychological barrier.” And this is not a new phenomenon either since the country has been undergoing many years of

“strong growth with figures that most developed economies could only dream of – even during times of global economic turmoil and uncertainty.  In fact, last year Malaysia exceeded all expectations, with the World Bank having to revise its estimate for our growth upwards not once, not twice, but three times – to 5.8%. Our capital market, a key facilitator for financing business growth, has continued to grow from strength to strength. In 2017, foreign net fund inflow recorded a positive RM10.8bil, the highest since 2012.”

The even better news is that this growth and stability is likely to continue, particularly in the next few months.  according to the DoS (Department of Statistics), this comes from the improvement at the end of last year with the Landing Index (growth of 121.3 points in November and a jump of 4.5 percent in January) and Coincident Index (increase of 0.5 percent in November).

Furthermore, it looks like the country is now “poised to take on the world in the gold industry.” This is because, as the PM explained: “Previously, gold had to be melted, refined and manufactured overseas before being imported into the country. Now, with the development of our first commercial gold refinery, we have the ability to process gold – from the smelting phase through to refinement – within Malaysia.”

So investors into Asia…check out Malaysia!