Nations cannot develop and progress forward if the infrastructure of the country is poorly developed. This is something that the Malaysian government is acutely aware of. As a key enabler for sustainable economic growth, the government has driven high-value infrastructure projects that will benefit the people and the nation.

The implementation and development of key mega infrastructure projects, is seen as key to raising the economic status of the people, especially those in the rural areas.

Relooking projects that benefit the nation

Malaysia has always stressed on projects that would have a clear beneficial impact on the community such as housing, health and transport.

It has sought to unwind legacy policies which were not beneficial to the people, such as reducing billions of ringgit spent on fuel subsidies annually, and axing the cost-intensive Formula One races, replacing them with a more comprehensive public transport network that will bring greater connectivity for those in the interior with the urban centres.

These infrastructure projects will be catalysts for greater development for the people, as income of those in the interior would also rise in tandem with urban development, thereby further bridging the poverty gap between the interior and urban areas.

Transportation network crucial for economic growth

The 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020) has placed high priority on public transportation as a key enabler for growth as it increases connectivity.

For instance, the Pan Borneo Highway, which is being built at a cost of RM27 billion, will provide a more expansive connection for the states of Sarawak and Sabah with Brunei.
The Pan Borneo Highway project was announced in 2013 and followed by a commitment made in the national Budget 2015. Construction works on the highway has begun, and the 1,060km highway is expected to be completed in 2022. This will be key in accelerating the social and economic growth in Sabah and Sarawak, including boosting tourism and bringing much needed goods and services to hard-to-reach places.

To ensure that the community benefits economically from the construction of the highway, the contracts were given to local contractors, allowing local engineers and contractors the opportunity to up skill their knowledge and gain experience. The on-going construction of the project has already generating some 400,000 jobs in the two states.

The Mass Rapid Transit Line (MRT), a rail network that brings expanded connectivity within Greater Kuala Lumpur, will significantly elevate the country’s public transportation system. The MRT, which is supported by feeder bus services, will connect those traveling within the city to the fringes of the capital more efficiently.

The high-speed rail (HSR) project is another mega project that will link Malaysia and Singapore, cutting down travel time significantly from a drive of four-hours to just 90 minutes. The east coast will benefit from improved connectivity between the west and east coasts of Peninsular Malaysia through the construction of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) that will run from Port Klang to Pengkalan Kubor.

Driving greater quality of life

The strong push for greater efficiency through identified infrastructure projects under the 11th Malaysia Plan has seen the country poised to boost its competitiveness and elevate the quality of life for Malaysians.

The expansion of the transportation network in Malaysia will certainly trigger more economic multipliers alongside the project. In the short term, the construction works for the identified infrastructure projects would provide employment opportunities and in the long term, the development of new townships and commercial centres alongside the connected areas will spur economic activities. Consequently, there will be more demand for housing and amenities such as hospitals.

Malaysia has been far-sighted to recalibrate the strategy to ensure only infrastructure projects that can enable faster economic growth and development, and bring great benefit to the people are the projects that are pushed forward. This is important to the country’s national goals to becoming a developed nation with a high qualify of life for its people.

END

By Shahril Mokhtar

* Shahril Mokhtar is the CEO of MRT Corp and a Board Member of MyHSR Corp and Prasarana Malaysia

Large or small, all businesses must promote themselves to be successful. Unfortunately, marketing is not always cheap, especially if yours is a small business with a limited budget. When cash-flow is tight, your first inclination might be to cut your marketing funds, but that would be a mistake.

Small businesses have more inexpensive marketing resources today than ever before. The digital world is full of trackable, cost-effective tools, and all you need to do is take advantage. Here are five ways to promote your business without breaking the bank.

1. Promotional Products

Everyone loves getting free stuff, so why not give prospective clients and potential partners something by which to remember you? One way to promote your brand and place your company at the forefront of everyone’s minds is by giving away promotional products.

Promotional products can take pretty much any form; from a ballpoint pen to an ice bucket emblazoned with your company’s logo or advertising message. This type of promotion is very cost-effective, and it adds a personal touch to your marketing strategy.

2. Social Media

Social media is potentially the fastest way to reach millions of people without spending a great deal of money. In fact, it is free to promote your business on social media, and you can do it yourself with a bit of research and practice. Paid advertising on social media, if done expertly, can be incredibly cost-effective.

Sites like Facebook, Linkedin, Google+, and Instagram all allow companies to market to the masses, and since these platforms are where most people go to find the things they’re looking for, it makes sense you should be there, too. The secret to successfully promoting yourself on social media is to provide high quality, helpful content your customers can use and enjoy.

3. Email Marketing

Email marketing is the use of email to promote products and services, as well as to build relationships with potential customers and clients. The secret to creating a successful email marketing campaign is to grow a robust, organized list of email addresses of people you already do business with and prospective future clients. Email marketing is another low-cost promotional tool you can do yourself. Mastering email marketing gives you a leg up on the competition because you can customize it to fit each client persona.

4. Networking Events

Networking is a process of meeting new people, collaborating, and building and fostering relationships to further grow your business. Attending networking events is perhaps the lowest-cost, most effective way to market your business in person.

Networking events can take place over the phone, through email interaction, at casual and formal social events, networking sites such as LinkedIn or in face-to-face meetings. All these methods are highly effective, and the cost factor is minimal compared to the return on investment they deliver.

5. Go Local

Your local community is a veritable wealth of cost-effective marketing opportunities. For example, your company could sponsor a little league team or host a charity fundraising event. Even printing up bookmarks to place at the public library gets your company’s name out for local customers to see and remember. Once you’ve established your organisation as a local hotspot, you can continue to figure out where and when to target even more current and future prospects.

These five ways to promote your business without breaking the bank will help you find new customers, build upon those relationships, and ultimately, keep your brand in the forefront of everyone’s minds. Marketing doesn’t have to be a race to see who can spend the most. Rather, it’s about how much time and effort you put forth to make it relevant to your customers’ needs.

Photo by Neven Krcmarek on Unsplash

Almost a year on from the UK’s referendum on EU membership, despite widely predicted chaos and uncertainty in the market, investors are still lining up to invest in key areas of the UK market.

Property

Property investments from Asia remain strong. Many regard the property market as a cornerstone of a successful investment portfolio and the UK has long been regarded as a desirable destination with Asian investors accounting for a greater proportion of residents in London’s super-rich districts. While London continues to attract strong investment owing to its international reputation, other areas of the UK are also seeing an increase in investments from Asia. This is, in part, due to more focused investments resulting from, among other things, property companies increasingly attracting investors by use of a blogger outreach service. Services like this allow property companies to offer a more personal take on the attractiveness of less internationally recognised areas of the UK and perhaps less obvious property investment opportunities.

Technology

Since the Brexit vote, the other surprise election outcome with widely predicted negative results for international markets has been the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency. However, his flip-flopping, which has included direct threats against China and accusations that the country is a “currency manipulator” might prove to be a boon for the UK technology market. Coupled with a weaker pound, this has made the UK a very attractive prospect for investors looking to add to their portfolios from this sector of the market. Some are predicting that Asian investment in the UK technology market could double to £93bn this year with Japanese telecoms giant SoftBank having already struck a £24bn deal with ARM, one of the UKs most successful and internationally recognisable brands.

Hospitality

After a disappointing year in 2016, experts are predicting a blockbuster year for the UK’s hospitality market. This is something investors from Asia seem particularly keen on, although the sector is predicted to remain subdued until Britain has finalised its exit deal with the EU. While the nature of the deal remains a source of speculation, and the uncertainty continues to depress markets, current indications are that China, Hong Kong and Japan are all continuing to invest heavily in UK hotels, with London again benefitting particularly from an influx of money. Northern Ireland is also set to benefit from an increase in investment from Asia. Belfast has seen a dramatic rise in the number of overseas visitors from the region and this has been reflected in an increase in the number of people from Asia looking to emigrate and take advantage of the UK’s world leading universities and strong education system.

The UK continues to defy expectations and predictions made before the referendum and remains an attractive investment opportunity. And, with the pound unlikely to rally, at least until a final deal has been struck with the EU, there is a fantastic window of opportunity for investors seeking a bargain in any of the aforementioned sectors of the UK market.

The mobile landscape is really affecting Asia – at least most parts of the continent – in more ways than one. The most active Twitter city is still Jakarta, Indonesia. Facebook is huge in different parts of South East Asia, while mobile device penetration is at its highest this year in select regions across the continent. This mobile revolution is being led by top CEOs from companies like Apple, Alphabet, and even Starbucks.

Apple is a very interesting case. Its CEO, Tim Cook, is the idol of many of those pursuing an executive online MBA degree. In a recent release, Washington State University stated that Tim Cook is a bit different in running Apple, favoring openness instead of secrecy and focusing more on improving the mobile experience without necessarily changing it. He has also made Apple a more charitable company in recent years.

You can learn more about The Mobile Revolution and the CEOs leading the movement from Washington State University’s complete infographic.

Washington State University Online

Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) should be a vital piece of your public relations campaign’s toolkit. They are metrics used to measure how your campaign is performing. It can give you a snapshot of where you currently stand. In what areas does your campaign excel? What areas need improvement? Are the results in line with what you anticipated? If you’re tracking the right metrics, this data can be used to improve the return on investment (ROI) from your PR campaigns. Data can make all the difference between a successful campaign and one that goes down in flames. However, first you’ll need to know exactly which KPI’s you should be tracking. While there are many that are useful, we’d like to focus on the following four.

Cost-per-lead

It’s important to ascertain the efficiency of your campaign. How much did it cost your business to garner those sales leads? How much is it costing you to secure a customer through inbound marketing vs outbound marketing? Identifying that number can help you create better strategies in the future. If you’re spending too much to get potential sales, then your ROI is being affected.

Sales analytics

The primary function of any campaign is to result in making money for your business. Tracking not just how much comes in, but from where and how it came in is of tantamount importance. You need to find out whether the majority of purchases are coming from online, how many are off-line, by phone, or even in an actual retail store. Keeping track of this information will allow you to tailor your marketing efforts to be more effective.

Sales qualified leads

Sales qualified leads metrics measure how many of your leads turn into clients. This information can help you track the success of your sales strategies and your sales team, if you have one. You’ll be able to see how you excel, and how your business might be struggling. This will allow you to make improvements and adjustments as you cater to your strengths and improve upon your weaknesses.

Landing page Conversion Rates

Once a potential customer lands on your site, are they making the purchase or are they leaving your site? If they aren’t sticking around, what is the issue? In reality, you only have a few seconds to make an impression on a potential customer, which means you must have engaging content. That’s why it’s so important to be able to measure your conversion rates. If you aren’t getting the results you want, you can tweak your content and see if it makes a difference.

In this day and age, information is everything. To grow your business, you need to maximize your ability to collect data and properly use it to improve your PR and rack up leads and sales. KPI’s provide a great way of measuring your ROI. The best part is that there are media analytics tools that can do the work for you. Companies like Isentia can provide those analytics, and guide you to making the right choices to get the most out of your campaigns.

Written by Elizabeth Victor

Picture Credit / Isentia

The United States is synonymous with cultural diversity. For this reason, learning about other cultures is a great tool for professionals, especially healthcare professionals and in particular nurses. The more you learn from other cultures, the more powerful and effective a nurse you’ll be.

There is a lot you can learn nursing aboard, including medical issues that are truly indigenous to people and how other nations are improving their healthcare systems. According to a 2014 Forbes article, Asia is going through a healthcare renaissance and expects to see healthcare spending increase to $2.21 trillion by 2018. That’s a compound annual growth rate of 10.5 percent over the next five years.

According to the United States Census Bureau, as of 2010 Asians make up 5.6 percent of the population. That’s more than 17 million Asian Americans. This is why Asia is a great place to consider working abroad. What you learn can easily be applied to the work you’re doing in this country. Broadened horizons will enhance the lives of your patients, and make the overall healthcare system stronger.

Gaining Perspective by Working Abroad

If you were to work in Japan for 1 year, upon returning to the United States you would be able to better assess a Japanese-American patient from a more cultural perspective. Instead of viewing healthcare as a blended composite homogeneity of our populace, you’d be capable of better communicating and understanding your Asian-American patients. In fact, you may begin to better understand the needs and customs of all.

Healthcare management systems should not be ethnocentric, but rather multicultural and diverse (just like the US population). Nurses who have experience working abroad will add to a patient’s comfort level, especially when that patient learns you’ve worked in her home country. This will delight her, and build trust. The synergistic benefits of working aboard have carry-forward benefits that cannot be overstated.

As Immigration Increases, so Shall Multiculturalism

Immigrants make up approximately 13 percent of the population, which is a larger immigrant population than any other country. The most immigrants come from Latin countries, but large numbers come from Asia as well. Traveling to Asian and Latin countries is going to give you the best opportunity for learning, and be an asset upon returning home because these cultures will make up a large portion of the patients you see every day.

Any opportunity to immerse yourself in another country is an opportunity to get better at what you do. You can find registered nurse jobs abroad by looking at international job boards, such as American Traveler. Being able to quickly and effectively assess the status of a non-English-speaking Asian American, based on what you’ve learned in their home country, goes a long way toward saving lives and building an immigrant’s confidence in our healthcare system.

Immersion is the Fastest Way to Learn a New Language

If you work in a big city, such as New York City and Los Angeles, it’s highly unlikely all of your patients speak English. Some areas feature populations that speak little-to-no English, which can make your job difficult if you don’t speak the language.
Studies have proven time and again that immersion is one of the most effective ways to learn a language, and communicate with native speakers. This can open up all sorts of job benefits, including raises and promotions based on your ability to speak two or more languages.

The United States is country adept at blending cultures, and medical professionals are encouraged to embrace this multiculturalism. Our borders are subject to a human tide that never ceases, and the more nurses know about all the residents of their communities the better.

Written by Jane Brown

To reach globally a business must think locally.

Large companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Malboro, Coca-Cola, and more, have the benefit of being dominant players in their industries. With this dominance they have the budget and resources to identify the local aspects when they expand their brand on a global scale.

Your business, however, isn't likely to have multi-billion dollar budgets to open divisions in new countries, hire teams of professionals from the region, and network with other companies which ease the transition to the new marketplace.

But that doesn't mean it's not possible to make a splash.

The key term I would like for you to remember throughout this work is assimilation (the process of changing one's language & culture to resemble another group).

When companies fail to assimilate to the new culture, their efforts to grow globally often backfire, such as some of these blunders rounded up in a post by Geoffrey James:

• Coca-Cola's brand name, when first marketed in China, was sometimes translated as “Bite The Wax Tadpole”.

• Ford blundered when marketing the Pinto in Brazil because the term in Brazilian Portuguese means “tiny male genitals”.

• The American Dairy Association replicated its “Got Milk?” campaign in Spanish-speaking countries where it was translated into “Are You Lactating?”.

This brings us to one of the important elements of extending your brand abroad and that is language.

Though English has become widely-used around the globe (and especially online) it's worth your while to seek quality translation services for any online or offline business assets. The easiest method is to reach out to companies within the area that are experienced in great translation services that also can report if a campaign needs to be tweaked to avoid a language blunder.

Another of these important items for reaching the global marketplace (with the attention to detail to the local marketplace you plan to enter) is the presentation of your goods and services.

A quick showing of this idea of presentation can be seen through how companies change the look & feel of their websites such as from this article by Graham Charlton; most notable when examining the difference that come to mind include:

• Promotional material is tailored to the market based on culture, economics, and needs

• Copy and creative shift depending on location where there may be rivalry

• Translation and a reformatting of what is frequently displayed is shifted due to marketplace demands that may not reflect the home country

The presentation continues to evolve and take shape in the physical side of selling products. In the States we have seen the trend of minimal design on many product boxes whereas in places such as Japan the boxes may be littered with celebrities, cartoon characters, expressions, promotions, and so much more.

A method to allow your business to reach those locals (abroad) is by working with box suppliers to develop and create designs that will fit within that local marketplace. An idea of what is possible with customized packaging can be seen online, where many companies display the different shapes, styles, coloring, and printing options. The Custom Boxes Now blog even has a post entitled "6 Examples of Companies Using Custom Boxes to Reflect Their Products."

The final element (but in no way the only other worth noting) is to understand cultural differences.

We've already talked about the language barrier but what other cultural differences are there to take into consideration when going global?

• Body language, mannerism, and gestures play an important role to set the right tone for doing business with people from the region (it's important to know them so you avoid create offense).

• Conversations are also conducted in a different manner; such example is the direct discussions we may have in the States versus the passive type of conversation you may find in Japan.

• Politics, without a doubt, will come into play when trying to understand cultural differences and in this case it's best to stay neutral on both sides to avoid aggravation or hostility.

All-in-all, it comes back to the term I wanted you to remember assimilation.By doing research about the culture, devoting the resources for services that remove language barriers, learning the cultural differences and customs, and adapting the presentation to the design styles of the region you will be one step closer to global growth.

Written by Jane Brown

Photo credit / INSEAD

The Internet itself is not a safe and protected environment because the early pioneers never imagined the level of malicious activity that has now permeated it. Instead, it was conceived as an open network of computers that communicated freely with each other to share ideas. Information streaming through the Internet like email messaging and online purchasing zips through a number of heterogeneous, loosely-connected computers (usually servers) and networks.

The Dark Side of the Internet

Like a prosperous city with little security, the Internet has attracted hordes of criminals—thieves, predators, and scam artists. Their principle occupation is to either penetrate computers and networks to steal or change information or to intercept data as it travels across the Internet. Realizing that not every computer around the world can be protected, they roam the Internet either individually or in gangs looking for weak links in the chain of information that is constantly being exchanged between computers.

Vulnerability

At one time, most security risks came from inside a company, but now even companies with honest employees are at risk because access to the Internet has made them vulnerable to thieves and industrial spies online.

Individuals tend to be more vulnerable than businesses and small companies tend to be more vulnerable than medium to large-sized organizations with IT staff who are aware of the multiple risks online and have created Internet security measures.
Individuals can protect their computers by using firewalls and anti-virus programs.

However, companies need to do more, besides firewalls and anti-virus software, they also need security policies to protect their hardware and software from employee errors. Hiring network administrators and conducting training for employees are necessary steps to secure their computers and networks.

While it’s impossible for a company to totally secure all computer systems, they need to do the best they can to reduce the risk of conducting business online because their security measures not only impact the company itself , but also partners, suppliers, and customers.
Common Threats
The most common threats are viruses, hackers, and phishing scams.

Viruses

While there are many possible threats online, one of the most popular are viruses. Like biological viruses that attack the human body, these digital viruses can wreck havoc.

One kind of virus may rewrite code to render an operating system or a software program from becoming unusable, another kind may scramble information to make it unreadable, and yet another kind may destroy data.

Viruses often spread quickly throughout a computer and from one computer to the next, and often operate quietly without the computer user or system administrator realizing their presence.

Viruses are often trend-driven. When security experts figure out how to neutralize a particular type of virus, others are invented.

According to Internet Security developers at Trend Micro, “Three trends driving change in the landscape require a dedicated security focus to 1) secure all end-user activity, regardless of device; 2) secure cloud and virtual data centers; and 3) enable advanced cyber security against targeted attacks.”

Hackers

Hackers are usually interested in one of two things—how to break into a computer system to steal or destroy data or how to attack a computer system from the outside by overwhelming it with so much superfluous data so that it forces the computer system to shut down.
Hackers can break into a company’s computer network through an open portal or an Internet connection that is open when it is not being used. They also attempt to steal passwords. When it comes to stealing usernames and passwords, some hackers are expert at guessing weak passwords while others send emails that appear to be from a trust source—perhaps a vendor or a customer—that trick employees into divulging this critical information.

Phishing Scams

One common way of theft has been phishing scams.

Here’s an illustration of how the famous Nigerian phishing scam may be used.

A career girl on a lunch break in a coffee shop in Hong Kong may receive an email on her laptop to ask her to fix a problem with her PayPal account and the email conveniently provides a link to access the website. Unknown to her, her actions are being digitally tracked by a remote thief in Nigeria who records her user name and password so that he can steal her money after she has logged out.

Prevention

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to ensure protection:

1. Installing firewalls. These act like web servers and block external users from connecting to an internal computer system.

2. Using encryption. Information sent across the internet may be intercepted. One way of making the information difficult to steal is by scrambling it. This information cannot be read without a key.

3. Password authentication. A network administrator can verify that the password is being used by the authorized person by using authentication technology. This can consist of handprint recognition, retinal scanning, voice recognition or a coded ID card.

4. Digital signatures. The use of digital signatures verify that an outside document was sent by the person whose name is on the document. This prevents phishing attacks and all kinds of email spoofs.

5. Antivirus software. This keeps updating its security information on viruses to combat newly invented viruses.

Written by Jane Brown

Like a bizarro world version of love and marriage, asbestos and mesothelioma are a match made in hell. In the developed, Western world, asbestos is, at least, the devil we know. But what about other parts of the world, where an exotic form of cancer may be lower on the list of concerns than, say, the procurement of clean water? What is their stance with regard to asbestos use? What do they know? When did they know it? And what are they doing about it? Let’s take a closer look:

Accountability

Who is responsible for knowing about deadly materials in commercial use? Is it the consumer's job to know about and test for unsuitable materials in everything they purchase? What about buildings they happen to enter? Does the same apply to buildings they are required to enter due to work or school? How much is the consumer required to know? Who is responsible for knowing about which materials are harmful for public consumption?

These are questions about accountability. There was a time when we did not know that asbestos was harmful to us. But what happens when people producing asbestos products do know about the harm, yet continue to use the material? That is when the question of accountability becomes a legal matter. If you know something is poisonous, yet put it into the water supply, are you not guilty of something criminal?

Many attorneys have made it their life’s work to hold asbestos pushers accountable, and stop asbestos use worldwide. That is because at this time, there are no asbestos product manufacturers who are unaware of the devastating effects of the material. This is just as true for developing nations as it is for the U.S. It begs the question why anyone, anywhere in the world would intentionally use it.

Industrialization and profit

In a sweeping exposé on asbestos in Asia, a seller of asbestos roofing sheets is quoted as saying:

There is no question of ignorance, no doubt about intent. The peddlers of asbestos know exactly what they are doing. They are engaging in blatant misinformation campaigns to bolster their industry. They are much like the tobacco industry. They lie about their product because it makes them billions of dollars at the expense of sometimes poor, uneducated people.

According to the same epic piece, two-thirds of India’s population lives on about $1.25 a day. No one is testing these people for exotic lung diseases that no doctor would look for or treat if found. Villages like Vaishali, in the impoverished state of Bihar are on their own when it comes to educating themselves and taking action.

Future prospects

One thing that all humans seem to have in common is that we are willing to pay a heavy, long-term price for short-term benefits. Cigarette smoking, drug use, and credit debt are just different expressions of this universal reality. As long as asbestos offers benefits on the cheap, and profits to producers, it will continue to be a worldwide problem.

The top countries by asbestos use are:
• India
• Russia
• China
• Kazakhstan
• Thailand

Canada is no longer a supporter of asbestos.

Banning asbestos is a luxury that much of the world feels they simply do not have. The asbestos industry is too big a part of the GDP of these countries to even consider giving up in the foreseeable future. As long as their short-term problems are greater than the long-term health risks to the poorest of their population, they have no incentive to change.

As with developed, Western nations, there have to be affordable alternatives for consumers. And producing it has to become unprofitable. When will it be banned worldwide? Consider this sobering fact: It is still being used in the U.S..

Written Jane Brown

The FOMC statement for 2014 has been a major talking point in the Forex market. In fact, the FOMC has gained unprecedented attention since the expectation is that the monthly asset purchases program will be reduced. It is expected to shed light on the interest rates, the monthly asset purchases and the overall outlook of the U.S. economy.

The reduction would lead to major changes within the market conditions and would inspire confidence in the U.S. assets. It has also been predicted that the Fed would further reduce its stimulus by $10 billion. The prediction alone has allowed currency pairs such as the USD/CAD to attain a four-year high.

This brings the attention to the increase in interest rates and how it would impact the currency market within foreign exchange, also influencing banking trends in the longer run.

Interest rate and currency pairs

The major talking point in the markets revolves around future interest rate expectations. They have gained such importance that they are taking precedence over the general headline rate.

The general progress is that currencies with low interest rates (like the U.S. Dollar) are expected to raise interest over 2014. This would lead to the rise of the U.S. dollar versus other currencies that already have a high interest rate, and no further increase in sight (like the South African Rand).

The predictive analysis leads to an investor preference of moving capital from lower yielding currencies/assets towards higher yielding currencies/assets. The widely awaited FOMC statement has led to more attention being focused towards the future interest rates rather than the present one.

At this juncture, investors within the currency market can learn from what happened in 2005. At that point, the U.K. GBP was already at higher interest rates with 250 basis points. When the U.S. announced rising rates, GBP fell by 8% narrowing down the difference to 25 basis points. Similar currency pair fluctuation is expected this year.

This is where the emerging currencies within the status quo may find themselves in a quandry. This can already be seen with the South African rand falling down 2% against the U.S. dollar just in time for the FOMC statement.

The markets within the Eurozone have already taken measures, such as borrowing from the European Central Bank, to keep the impact of monetary policy easing within control.

The current situation also means a great deal for the market funds. Just a day back, the auction of floating rate treasuries was announced: it will provide diversification options to investors. The auction has already sold off $15bn of floating rate notes, indicating a strong market demand.

Currency market accounts and impact

With the market being conducive for money market accounts, investors are looking at a lucrative 2014. By utilizing a money market savings graph, a comparison of rates can be made. This allows a selection of not only the best interest rates, but also long term investment options. With the way the market is shaping up, such tools and accounts can be used in ‘laddering’ approaches to increase profits.

A study done on the post-recession currency market changes and interest rate fluctuation has highlighted the usage of a ‘monetary policy triangle’ to better analyze the market. Investors can make use of three factors including short term policy rate, exchange rate and long term interest on government bonds to understand which currency would be their best bet.

The concept of monetary policy helps to cater to the behavior of the institutions in the post-recession era. The speculative hike in interest rates is also a derivative of long term policy measures arising as a result of the financial crisis.

The present money market is in an ideal position for countries to use for the growth of their reserves. This can be understood from an analysis done on six industrialized economies (U.S., Japan, Switzerland, U.K and the Eurozone). The result is that reserve increases within the regions was mostly based on market fluctuations in exchange rates (mostly between the U.S. dollar and Euro), and also through capital gains via investment portfolios.

With the liquidity injections provided by the Fed (quantitative easing program) beginning to subside, rates are expected to rise. This would impact the currency market in a multidimensional manner. Investors should keep currency pair based growth in check and also notice how individual governments are responding to the change. Additionally, the selection of appropriate currency market accounts will lead to higher profits within the year.

Written by Jane Brown