MALAYSIA – A report released by Bank Negara Malaysia, the country’s central bank, showed that headline inflation, as measured by the annual percentage change in Consumer Price Index (CPI), increased to 1.8 percent in April from 0.9 percent in March.
The report said the rise April’s inflation reflected mainly the impact from the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the abolishment of the Sales and Sales and Services Tax (SST) on 1 April.
“The higher price increases were relatively broad-based, with eleven out of the twelve categories of consumer goods and services registering higher rate of inflation in April compared with March,” the statement said.
The same report, which was released by the central bank on Friday, showed that Malaysia’s interbank rates were stable in April.
The banking system also remained well-capitalised in April, with the Common Equity Tier 1 Capital Ratio, Tier 1 Capital Ratio and Total Capital Ratio at 12.4 percent, 13.2 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively.
The level of net impaired loans remained stable at 1.2 percent of net loans while the loan loss coverage ratio improved to above 100 percent. – BusinessNewsAsia.com