KUALA LUMPUR (March 7): Local institutions have stepped up as key buyers of local equities, providing much-needed stability to the market, as foreign investors extended their selling streak for the 19th consecutive week.

The local market has witnessed a challenging period in the past few weeks, as foreign shareholding in Malaysian equities fell to an all-time low of 19.4% as of January 2025.

The MSCI's February rebalancing further intensified the situation, with foreign shareholders increasing their net selling to RM1.27 billion last week — a significant surge compared to prior weeks — bringing to a staggering RM5.48 billion year-to-date net selling.

Amid the sustained outflow, local institutions have stepped up as key buyers, providing much-needed stability to the market.

Over the past month, based on compiled shareholding filings with the local bourse, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) recorded its largest net purchases in Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA), estimated at RM459.83 million. This was followed by Gamuda Bhd (KL:GAMUDA) at RM172.78 million and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (KL:CIMB) at RM134.12 million.

It is important to note that these values were calculated using the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) on the transaction date multiplied by the volume.

Among the top 10 purchases by the EPF, two were non-KLCI stocks: Dialog Group Bhd (KL:DIALOG) and Sime Darby Property Bhd (SIMEPROP). The EPF net bought RM38.05 million and RM30.54 million, respectively, in these stocks.

In contrast, banking and hospital operator stocks ranked among the EPF's top disposals. Over the past month, the fund recorded net sales totalling RM197.72 million in banking stocks and RM178.57 million in hospital operator stocks.

Overall, the EPF’s top ten purchases amounted to RM1.18 billion, significantly surpassing its top ten sales of RM691.28 million. This resulted in a net buying of RM489.01 million.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's largest public sector pension fund for civil servants, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP), recorded top ten purchases totalling RM128.23 million, exceeding its top ten sales of RM50.71 million.

Its key acquisitions included SD Guthrie Bhd (KL:SDG), Inari Amertron Bhd (KL:INARI), Telekom Malaysia Bhd (KL:TM) and Pentamaster Corp Bhd (KL:PENTA). On the other hand, its major disposals were Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd (KL:TAKAFUL), Dialog Group and Top Glove Corp Bhd (KL:TOPGLOV).

Other funds, however, experienced net sales only, with no net purchases over the past month. For instance, Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) recorded net sales of RM179.06 million in Malayan Banking Bhd (KL:MAYBANK), while Lembaga Tabung Haji net sold RM17.46 million worth of Sime Darby Bhd (KL:SIME) shares.

Additionally, Urusharta Jamaah, the Ministry of Finance's special vehicle, registered net sales of RM13.97 million in NEXG Bhd (KL:NEXG), previously known as Datasonic Group Bhd.

Year to date, local institutions have proven to be a crucial pillar of support for Bursa Malaysia, with net purchases totalling RM3.46 billion in Malaysian equities. Over the past 40 trading days, local funds have been aggregate net buyers on 34 occasions.

Their consistent buying activity has alleviated the impact of foreign outflows, helping to maintain relative market stability despite persistent selling pressure.

On the other hand, local retail investors continued their net buying streak for the third consecutive week, recording a net inflow of RM447.9 million for the week ended February 28, a significant increase from RM245.7 million in the previous week, according to MIDF Research’s March 3 fund flow report.