KUALA LUMPUR — Foreign holdings in Malaysia’s capital market are currently at 19.4% as at Jan 2025, and have remained largely steady at around 19% since 2023, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said foreign investors’ holdings were 19.5% in 2023, increasing to 19.7% at the end of last year.
“In January 2025, it is still 19.4%, (so that slight decrease) does not reflect (a lack of) confidence in the national economy,” he said during the Prime Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today, in reply to a question on the 0.2% drop.
The question was asked by Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (Machang-PN), who asked for the reasons why foreign investors had sold their shareholdings in the country.
Anwar said global equity research firms such as Nomura Global Market Research, JP Morgan and HSBC have also upgraded their recommendations for public company shares.
Anwar added that foreign investment into the country as a whole had in fact recorded an increase, as seen for the first nine months of last year.
“I have to remind you that we have to look at the whole, which is the fact that for the first nine months, the gross domestic product (GDP) was still encouraging.
“The value of investment in the first nine months of 2024 increased by 10.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2023, this is a considerable increase,” he said.
Anwar said the bond market also showed a positive net flow.
“So far this year, the net inflow of bond investment is RM1.55 billion. Thus, if investors are not convinced, they would not have invested RM1.55 billion,” he said.
More important is the rate of growth, increased investment figures, and the strength of the ringgit, Anwar also said, as these indicated that Malaysia’s fundamentals are still strong.
“The problem (of investment outflows) is worldwide. Especially with some of President Donald Trump’s recent decisions that affect Europe, Canada, Mexico, China, Latin America and Africa as a whole. Will it (the impact of Trump’s decisions) last? That, we are not sure yet.”
As such, Malaysia remained focus on pursuing new opportunities to attract investors, such as as the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, Forest City in Johor and the TRX financial hub in Kuala Lumpur, Anwar added.
He also said the government was planning growth initiatives for Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu together with southern Thailand. – February 13, 2025