KUALA LUMPUR (July 14): Malaysia could see stronger foreign investor interest as more technology-related listings enter the market, supported by the country’s growing role in tech manufacturing and long-term energy transition opportunities, according to Manulife Investment Management (Manulife IM).

Manulife IM’s Asia equities head June Chua said a stronger pipeline of technology initial public offerings (IPOs) could help attract more foreign capital into Malaysia. She noted that several technology companies had already listed in the first half of the year, and more tech-related listings could further boost investor participation.

“We have seen some technology companies come to market in the first half of this year. Having more tech-related IPOs coming to market will help drive foreign investor interest,” she said during a virtual briefing on the firm's second-half Asia investment outlook on Tuesday.

Chua said Manulife IM is focused on tech manufacturing companies, as multinational corporations (MNCs) continue diversifying their supply chains under the China+1 strategy.

She also highlighted the energy transition theme as another key opportunity, supported by government initiatives to raise renewable energy’s share of Malaysia’s national energy mix to 70% by 2050. Potential beneficiaries include utility companies, power infrastructure contractors, solar engineering and construction players, and EV supply chain companies.

However, she cautioned that risks include domestic political uncertainty and the US interest rate cycle.

Chua said Asian markets, including Malaysia, remain supported by healthy earnings expectations, with most markets trading near their 10-year valuation averages. Malaysia’s 12-month forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio stands at 13.7 times, broadly in line with Hong Kong and above the Philippines, Indonesia and South Korea.

She added that investors are becoming more selective, focusing on companies with stronger earnings visibility and exposure to long-term growth themes rather than viewing Asia as a single investment market.

Chua said the strong performance of markets such as South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore has been driven not only by their exposure to AI and technology, but also by stronger support from domestic institutional investors and government initiatives to boost local equity markets.