Chirac starts visit to Malaysia

Chirac starts visit to Malaysia

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (Reuters): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad welcomed French President Jacques Chirac yesterday for a two-day working visit during which Mahathir was expected to raise his plans for new currency trading rules.

The two leaders were also likely to discuss a $2 billion gas deal involving Malaysian, French and Russian companies in Iran, which is being probed by the United States.

Mahathir greeted the French leader on Malaysia's northern resort island of Langkawi, where Chirac arrived after attending a summit of Francophone leaders in Vietnam.

Today, Mahathir was to meet Chirac for bilateral discussions and Malaysian officials said he was likely to bring up his plan for new rules to govern international currency trading.

Southeast Asian currencies have plunged against the dollar since a financial crisis erupted in Thailand in July, and Mahathir has promoted a plan to introduce regulations in foreign exchange trading.