Yes, non-residents can invest in Malaysia in any form of ringgit assets either as direct or portfolio investments.

Non-residents can fund their investments in Malaysia through the conversion of foreign currency to ringgit with licensed onshore banks or through an appointed overseas office of the licensed onshore bank’s banking group, foreign currency borrowings from the licensed onshore banks, or ringgit borrowing from licensed onshore banks for real sector activities and for the purchase of residential and commercial properties in Malaysia except for the purchase of land only.

Non-residents are free to remit out divestment proceeds, profits, dividends, or any income arising from investments in Malaysia. However, repatriation must be made in foreign currency.

Yes. A non-resident investor may buy ringgit against FC from an appointed overseas office (AOO) of a licensed onshore bank to facilitate the purchase of ringgit assets.

Yes, a non-resident is free to open a ringgit account in Malaysia, known as an “external account.” Funds in the external account can be used, among others, to pay for goods or services in Malaysia or to purchase ringgit assets in Malaysia. There is no restriction for a non-resident to repatriate funds in the external account upon conversion into FC.

Ringgit assets include ringgit-denominated securities or Islamic securities issued in Malaysia by a resident; ringgit-denominated securities or Islamic securities issued by a non-resident as approved by BNM; ringgit-denominated financial instrument or Islamic financial instrument as approved by BNM; or properties in Malaysia.

Yes, a non-resident can invest in Malaysia via a non-resident institutional investor.

Yes, there are flexibilities accorded to a non-resident institutional investor to manage their foreign exchange exposure arising from investments in Malaysia. Further information can be found in the “Buying and Selling of FX” section by Non-Resident.

No.

A non-resident individual is allowed to borrow any amount in ringgit or foreign currency (FC) from his/her resident or non-resident immediate family members (i.e. spouse, parents, children and siblings) for any purpose.

No, in-laws are not deemed as immediate family members.

Yes.

A non-resident is only permitted to borrow in ringgit to finance or refinance activities in the real sector in Malaysia, including the purchase of immovable property, except for the purchase of land only. However, a non-resident individual is also allowed to obtain a credit card or charge card facility from an onshore bank to be used for payment of retail goods or services when abroad.

Yes.

Yes. The overdraft facility shall be solely for the purpose of mitigating settlement failure for the purchase of ringgit securities due to inadvertent delay of payment. Such overdraft facility is eligible for non-residents who are a custodian bank, stockbroking corporation, trust bank, international central securities depository acting on behalf of non-resident investors, or a non-resident investor purchasing ringgit securities for its own account. The maximum tenure of the overdraft facility is 2 business days.

Yes, a non-resident individual is allowed to make payment in ringgit or foreign currency to his resident immediate family members i.e spouse, parents, children, and siblings.

Yes, a non-resident requires an external account in Malaysia to receive payment in ringgit.

Yes, the transfer of funds from an external account to another external account belonging to the same account holder is allowed.

Yes, the transfer of funds between non-residents who are immediate family members (i.e. spouse, parents, children, and siblings) is allowed.

Yes, a non-resident is allowed to repatriate funds from Malaysia, including any income earned or proceeds from divestment of ringgit asset, provided that the repatriation is made in foreign currency.