MYR - Malaysian Ringgit

About the Malaysian Ringgit

Country:

Malaysia

Code:

MYR

Symbol:

RM

The Malaysian Ringgit is the currency of Malaysia and is often abbreviated to MYR, it can also be written as RM. The Malaysian Ringgit is divided into 100 sen and has a conversion factor consisting of six significant digits. The name of the Malaysian Ringgit derives from the meaning "jagged". It was initially used to refer to the serrated edges of silver Spanish dollars available during the 16th and 17th century Portuguese colonial era.

In 1967, the Malaysian dollar replaced the Malaya and British Borneo dollar. The new currency had the same denominations as its predecessor except that of $10,000. In 1993 the use of the dollar sign "$" was replaced by "RM" (Ringgit Malaysia). Despite new currencies in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, the Inter-changeability Agreement meant the Malaysian dollar was also exchangeable with the Singapore dollar and Brunei dollar until 1973.

The Malaysian Ringgit traded between 1995 and 1997 as a free float currency before plummeting by the end of 1997 as a result of the year's East Asian financial crisis. For the first half of 1998, the currency fluctuated before Bank Negara Malaysia pegged the Ringgit to the US dollar in September 1998. The Malaysian Ringgit is issued by the Bank Negara Malaysia.

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