Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) was established on 26 January 1959 and it is the sole issuer of Malaysian Ringgit. On 12 June 1967, the first Malaysian Ringgit issued to replace the Malaya and British Borneo dollar.
In 1993, the currency symbol “RM” (Ringgit Malaysia) was introduced to replace the use of the dollar sign “$”.
Since the first issuance, the value of gradually increase as Malaysian economy prospers. Do you know how much is printed Malaysian Ringgit Currency Note in circulation?
The table below show the total the of Malaysian Ringgit Note circulated in the economy since 1975 excluding RM500, RM1,000 notes and coins valued about RM2 billion.
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The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) announced dividend rate of 6.75 percent for the financial year ended 31st December 2014. It was the highest since year 2000 and higher than 6.35 percent announced in 2013.
Kindly refer to “Historical Employees Provident Funds (EPF / KWSP) Dividend Rate” page for EPF dividend rate table & chart since 1952. You may want to calculate the dividend received by using EPF Dividend Calculator.
The total dividend payout stand at RM36.60 billion from RM39.08 billon investment income. The remaining are used for investment expenses, operating expenditures, statutory charges and net impairment allowance on financial assets. The payout representing an increase of 17.31 per cent compared to RM31.20 billion recorded in 2013.
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This article is an adaptation from a section of Sharif Rahman’s latest book which concluded his detailed explanation on gold’s multitude of failures. His latest book is titled, “Kegagalan Emas Sebagai Matawang” and is sure an exciting read because he also took the time to explain the justice of “interest”.
Ever wonder why the money in your hand is considered valuable, even if the paper it’s printed on is just that, mere pieces of beautiful paper? Many gold bugs made the silly accusation that these pieces of paper have no value and are no match when compared to their shiny gold bars and coins. They claimed that the Ringgit’s value is simply being dictated by the government and the government is forcing the people to accept it. Thus the typical word they used to badmouth the currency is “fiat”. Fiat means decree, and a long time ago, that was the case. However today, our paper money is no longer a mere fiat currency, it is a currency that is soundly backed, and the backing is far superior to using gold as the support.
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For the past decade, the gold price increases tremendously from merely USD270 (RM1,026) per ounce (oz) in early 2002 to all-time high of USD1,913 (RM5,685) per ounce (oz) 23rd August 2011. That was 608% increase in US Dollar or 454% in Malaysian Ringgit.
However, since reaching all time high, the price gradually went down to less than $1,200 per ounce at the end of 2014. 2013 is the worst performing year, where the price drop a massive 27%. 2014 also register a price drop in US Dollar albeit small drop but the price increase in Malaysian Ringgit which was due to sudden drop of Ringgit versus US Dollar.
Gold once perceived as a safe haven during uncertainties or economic crises and a hedge against inflation but why it dropped so much? Read the article “Breaking the Myth of Gold as the Ultimate Store of Wealth” and “Why Gold is Damaging to the World’s Economy” which were written by the author of 259 Trillion Vs 5 Trillion book series. Maybe the article could explain why.
I made a compilation table to show the annual gold price changes for the past decades in both US Dollar and Malaysian Ringgit as below.
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I just added 2 new online calculators which I think will be useful, especially for property investors out there. These calculators made specifically for property investors who rent out their property.
First, Property Rental Yields Calculator use to determine whether a property worth to be invested as rental income. Second, Tenancy Agreement Stamp Duty Calculator to find our the cost to stamp the rental agreement.
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