KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Foreign investors continued to show interest in Malaysian equities with a cumulative inflow of US$598 million in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q 2024) from USUS$170.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q 2023).

Bursa Malaysia Bhd in its report entitled 'Analysis on Institutional Capital Flow for the First Quarter of 2024' posted on ‘X’ on Monday said North American investors continued to add Malaysian equities into their portfolios with an inflow amounting to US$413.5 million during the quarter.

“In 1Q 2024, The Vanguard Group Inc reverted to net buyer of Malaysian equities and recorded US$259.7 million of foreign inflow from -US$308.4 million in 4Q 2023. It largely net added US$121.3 million worth of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd shares to its portfolios,” it said.

The local bourse said T Rowe Price Hong Kong Ltd also net added Malaysian equities which amounted to US$215.4 million, with buying interest mainly in the financial sector.

“On top of that, inflows from BlackRock Fund Advisors increased significantly quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to US$108.7 million from US$14.2 million in 4Q 2023, the highest net purchase over the past four quarters,” it added.

At the industry level, it said foreign investors purchased into the financial industry with a significant US$344.9 million inflow, driven primarily by The Vanguard Group, Inc (US$162.4 million) followed by T Rowe Price Hong Kong Ltd (US$141.8 million).

“Financial counters that topped foreign inflows were CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (US$231.1 million) and Malayan Banking Bhd (US$196.6 million),” it said.

Based on S&P Global Market Intelligence’s sample of over 2,000 institutions and funds, aggregated flow from global and domestic funds became net buyers in 1Q 2024 with a collective inflow of US$1,091.1 million (4Q 2023: -RM2,502.9 million), according to the report.

Domestic investors were the largest supporters of Malaysian equities, driving a significant inflow of US$493.1 million with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) being the major contributor with a net buy of US$599.5 million.

Bursa Malaysia said the nine government-linked investment companies (GLICs) tracked in the database turned net buyers in 1Q 2024 after net added US$226.5 million worth of local equities from -US$870 million.

Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia said technology remained the preferred sector after having net bought for the fourth straight quarter.

“In 1Q2024, GLICs further increased their purchase momentum to US$547.5 million worth of technology stocks, representing 22.8 times from the previous quarter from US$24.0 million in 4Q 2023.

“The momentum was primarily driven by Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) which contributed US$401.1 million of net inflow, followed by the EPF (US$175.8 million),” it said.

In addition, the local bourse said with PNB’s support, Maxis Bhd received a net inflow of US$452.4 million in 1Q 2024 which offset disposal by other GLICs.

The report is based on S&P Global Market Intelligence’s database.

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