Foreign funds returning to Malaysia despite headwinds
Net take-up of $6.6b of bonds beating cash outflow last year seen as positive sign of reform under PH govt
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Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and fellow Pakatan Harapan leaders (from left) Mohamad Sabu, Muhyiddin Yassin and Lim Kit Siang at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur a day after their win in the May 2018 polls. The return of foreign funds into government bonds shows that "this government is continuing to reform public finance and controlling its debt", says an analyst. ST FILE PHOTO
Shannon Teoh Malaysia Bureau Chief In Kuala Lumpur, Shannon Teoh
Despite growing political uncertainty, foreign funds are flowing back into Malaysia after fleeing in 2018, when an unprecedented change of government panicked investors.
A whopping net take-up of RM20 billion (S$6.6 billion) of bonds last year far outweighed the RM11 billion in foreign money that left the stock market, and some analysts are heralding it as a positive sign of market reforms under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration.