Most Asian currencies dip

Most emerging Asian currencies eased on Friday as investors took profits from weekly gains amid Spain's fiscal woes, while the Singapore dollar firmed on a fight between Heineken and a Thai billionaire for a beer-brewer in the city-state.
The Thai baht hit an 11-year low against the Singapore dollar on expectations of demand for the city-state's currency related to Thai Beverage plc's bid for Fraser and Neave (F&N) and its affiliated beer maker Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) for S$3.8 billion ($3.03 billion).
The Philippine peso underperformed Asian peers as investors took profits and on dollar demand linked to non-deliverable forwards (NDF) fixing, dealers said. Most emerging Asian currencies were set to see weekly gains, helped by growing expectations the US Federal Reserve may take further measures to boost the economy. The ringgit has been the best performing emerging Asian currency so far this week with a 0.9 percent advance against the dollar, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The Malaysian currency found support not only from the policy expectations but also profit-taking from the Singapore dollar's gains versus the neighbouring unit, dealers said. Last week, the Singapore dollar hit a 14-year high against the ringgit. "I will probably go with the ringgit. It looks too cheap versus the Singapore dollar," said a European bank dealer in Singapore, when asked which emerging Asian currencies he prefers.
Currency market players already increased bullish bets on most emerging Asian currencies, especially the Philippine peso and the Singapore dollar, during the last two weeks, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday. The Singapore dollar rose to 25.32281 versus baht, the highest since September 2001, on talk of demand for the city-state's currency linked to Thai Beverage's attempt to buy stakes in F&N and APB.
But Heineken NV on Friday launched a S$5.1 billion counter-bid, trumping the surprise offer for the Singapore beer maker by the Thai company controlled by tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi. The city-state's unit stood at 1.5375 versus the single currency, hovering around 1.5339 hit on Thursday, the strongest since July 2001. The Philippine peso eased as investors covered short positions in the dollar and on local corporate bids for the greenback.