STATUS OF SINGAPORE'S RINGGIT HOLDINGS

Mr Inderjit Singh asked the Minister for Finance what is the status of the several billions of ringgit that Singapore was holding prior to the currency control imposed by the Malaysian Government.

Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau: Singapore's official ringgit holdings consisted mainly of offshore ringgit deposits which GIC placed with banks based in Singapore, and on-shore ringgit deposits with Malaysian banks in Malaysia.

Regarding the offshore ringgit deposits, the unexpected imposition of currency controls caused the banks to prepay GIC's ringgit deposits in US dollars at 4 ringgits to the US dollar. GIC has thus received full payment in US dollars for the offshore deposits.

As for the on-shore deposits, GIC is discussing the status with Bank Negara Malaysia.