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Stronger ringgit has little impact on S'poreans, say JB traders
The Straits Times
|February 10, 2026
The strengthening of the ringgit against the Singapore dollar has little impact on Chinese New Year sales in Malaysia, according to local traders.
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They said they continue to enjoy brisk sales from Singapore customers this festive season and expect business to improve as Chinese New Year draws closer.
Trader Kenny Ng, 29, said the crowd from Singapore makes up more than half of his customers at the Johor Jaya Chinese New Year market.
According to Mr Ng, many people had become used to shopping online due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but they are reverting to physical purchases in 2026.
“I believe this has contributed to the larger crowd this year; both locals and Singaporeans.
“In fact, we also have buses dropping Singaporean customers off to shop here before picking them up a few hours later to head back.
“This shows that the strengthening of the ringgit has little impact on businesses here,” Mr Ng said.
This story is from the February 10, 2026 edition of The Straits Times.
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