BERNAMA – Foreign Investors Net Bought US$389.4 Mln Of Asian Equities Last Week

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (Bernama) — Foreign investors continued to net buy Asian stocks for the second consecutive week, recording a net inflow of US$389.4 million, according to MBSB Investment Bank Bhd.

In its Fund Flow Report for the week ended Aug 15, 2025, it reported that only India and Thailand registered net foreign outflows, while all other countries saw net inflows.

South Korea recorded the largest inflow at US$587.5 million after President Lee Jae Myung and the United States (US) President Donald Trump announced their first summit meeting on Aug 25 in Washington to discuss strengthening alliances and economic security partnership.

“Based on the tariff deal reached last month, the two leaders will advance partnership in the manufacturing sector, including in semiconductors, batteries and shipbuilding, as well as critical minerals and technology,” it said.

Leaders of South Korea and Vietnam also pledged to deepen economic cooperation.

Indonesia also posted net buying activities for the second straight week with a US$412.3 million inflow after signing a free trade agreement with Peru on Monday in Jakarta.

Similarly, Taiwan posted a net inflow of US$90.4 million, marking an eighth consecutive week and the longest foreign buying streak since the start of available data in 2021.

In contrast, India recorded the region’s largest outflow at -US$347.8 million, extending its losing streak to five weeks for the first time since March 2025.

Nonetheless, despite the foreign withdrawals, S&P Global Ratings upgraded India’s long-term sovereign credit rating to “BBB” from “BBB-”, the first upgrade in 18 years, citing strong economic growth, improved monetary policy credibility and sustained fiscal consolidation.

On the domestic front, the investment bank said foreign investors extended their net selling streak for the sixth consecutive week with a net outflow of -RM566.1 million, marking a 50 per cent drop from last week’s RM1.14 billion outflow.

“Foreign investors were net sellers on every trading day, with outflows ranging from -RM94.0 million to -RM167.4 million.

“The largest outflow was recorded on Friday, followed by Thursday with -RM103.5 million, Tuesday with -RM101.5 million and Monday with -RM99.8 million, while Wednesday recorded the smallest outflow,” it said.

The top three sectors that recorded net foreign inflows were plantation (RM77.7 million), property (RM52.7 million) and financial services (RM42.2 million).

Meanwhile, the top three sectors that recorded the highest net foreign outflows were utilities (-RM209.5 million), telecommunication and media (-RM185.5 million) and healthcare (-RM152.7 million).

— BERNAMA

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