Cannot “Tahan” – Weak Ringgit Forces Xiaomi To Hike Prices

Effective today, Oct 20th, Xiaomi Malaysia has increased prices on its products. Thanks to the local currency – Ringgit – which has been the worst performer amongst the emerging market, losing 20% since early of the year, Xiaomi fans have no choice but to pay more for the Chinese Apple products.

Here’re 6 (six) Mi products that are seeing dearer pricing:

1. 5,000 mAh Mi Power Bank:- RM39 (from RM34 – up 14.7%)
2. 10,000 mAh Mi Power Bank:- RM59 (from RM49 – up 20.4%)
3. 16,000 mAh Mi Power Bank:- RM89 (from RM79 – up 12.6%)
4. Mi Headphone:- RM369 (from RM319 – up 15.6%)
5. Mi Band:- RM69 (from RM59 – up 17%)
6. Redmi 2 Enhanced:- RM529 (from 459 – up 15.2%)

Besides the above price hikes ranging from 12.6% to 20.4%, prices for other Xiaomi products are to remain, for now. There’s only one reason stated by Xiaomi Malaysia Facebook for the price increase – weakening ringgit. The highest 20.4% in price hike is roughly the same percentage that the local currency has lost its value this year.

It seems the China-based Xiaomi is catching up with Apple and other gadget players such as Microsoft in increasing prices due to currency factor. The luxury iPhone 6S, iPads and Macs are all getting pricier while the newSurface Pro 4 costs more than its predecessor by a wide margin.

The lowest range of Surface Pro 4 (Intel Core M3) is now selling for RM3,999, as compared to last year’s Surface Pro 3 which started at RM2,729. Interestingly, it started at US$899 (RM3,857 based on today’s rate of RM4.29 to a dollar) in the U.S. Hence, vendors and suppliers have marked up using RM4.45 rate, possibly due to volatility of ringgit.

As for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, it had undergone multiple times of price increase since it went on sale late last year. Together with 6% GST and ringgit depreciation, the lowest range of iPhone 6S will set you poorer by RM3,199 for 16GB today. The same specification was selling for RM2,399 early of the year.

The highest range of iPhone 6S Plus is now at a mind-boggling RM4,699 for 128GB, when it was yours at RM3,549 early of the year. Understandably, Xiaomi cannot “tahan (stand)” any more with Malaysian ringgit, which doesn’t seem to stabilize after months of tumbling. -financetwitter