Malaysia sees total foreign outflow of RM11.65b

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 — Malaysia has seen a total foreign net outflow of RM11.65 billion from Bursa Malaysia as at December 28, 2018, registering the largest yearly foreign net outflow since 2015, says Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF) Amanah Investment Bank Bhd.

In its weekly fund flow report, MIDF said RM19.49 billion of equities was pulled out.

“While this amount offsets last year’s foreign net inflow of RM10.33 billion, Malaysia is still the nation with the second lowest year-to-date outflow amongst the four Asean markets we monitor,” the report said.

The report said Monday’s foreign net selling declined to RM13.0 million on Christmas eve, compared to the previous three trading days, which saw foreign net outflow standing above RM100 million.

“The slowdown in foreign net selling was partly attributable to Beijing’s pledge to support the economy in the wake of the global trade tribulation by slashing taxes and ensuring liquidity is maintained,” it said.

Foreign funds pulled out RM60.6 million on Boxing Day (December 26), taking cue of the unnerving political turmoil in the United State (US), where President Donald Trump became hostile towards the Federal Reserve chairman.

“This is in conformity with the three other Asean (Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines) peers we monitor.

“Nonetheless, the level of foreign net selling on last Thursday retreated to a lower amount of RM28.1 million, amidst the overnight jump on Wall Street, following a report that US holiday sales would hit a six-year high,” the report said.

On December 28, the pace of foreign net selling was little changed at RM26.0 million net as the euphoria on the US consumer strength evaporated with no catalyst in sight.

Meanwhile, the participation rate amongst the various group of investors saw a decline across the board.

The average daily traded value (ADTV) of foreign investors registered the largest weekly drop of 58.7 per cent after declining below RM1 billion to RM475 million.

“We note that the weekly ADTV for foreigners was also the lowest in the last week of 2017,” the report said. — Bernama

Source: MalayMail