Twenty straight months of foreign investors pulling out of Malaysian equities could come to an end this month.
Foreigners have poured a net US$97 million into local stocks this month through March 22, while withdrawing a combined US$1 billion from four other Southeast Asian markets tracked by Bloomberg. Foreigners becoming net buyers would mark a rare event for a market that saw global funds pull a record US$5.7 billion last year. Political upheaval combined with the Covid-19 outbreak had soured sentiment even as local investors turned Malaysian glove makers into one of Asia’s hottest pandemic trades.