KL reserves up 2.4% to $60.9b

KL reserves up 2.4% to $60.9b

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's foreign-exchange reserves rose to a
record in the first two weeks of November as exporters brought
home overseas earnings and foreign investors put more money into
the stock market.

Reserves rose 2.4 percent to $60.9 billion on Nov. 12, Bank
Negara Malaysia, the central bank, said in a faxed statement in
Kuala Lumpur today. That's 5.6 times the country's short-term
external debt and enough to pay for 7.5 months of retained
imports, it said.

The increase reflected "the sustained repatriation of export
earnings and inflows of portfolio investment," Bank Negara said.
Outflows resulted from imports and dividend payments. --
Bloomberg