Funds switch to Malaysia

Indonesia has had net foreign outflows of US$6.8bil this year, while Malaysia has recorded inflows of US$1.3bil.

SINGAPORE: The proportion of Indonesia’s debt held by foreigners has dropped to 27% from 39% at the end of last year, while in Malaysia it increased to 24% from a low of 21.7% in April.

The difference has narrowed to just 3 percentage points from as much as 14 percentage points at end-2019. It’s the same story for fund flows.

Indonesia has had net foreign outflows of US$6.8bil this year, while Malaysia has recorded inflows of US$1.3bil.

One of the factors deterring flows into Indonesia has been the central bank’s debt-monetisation programme, in which it buys bonds directly from the government.