Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign holdings in Malaysia’s capital market are currently at 19.4 per cent as at January 2025, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, explained that the holding of foreign investors in the country’s capital market has remained at around 19 per cent since 2023 with 19.5 per cent and had increased to 19.7 per cent at the end of 2024.
"In January 2025, it is still 19.4 per cent, (so that slight decrease) does not reflect (lack of) confidence in the national economy," he said during the Minister's Question Time session in the Dewan Rakyat today in reply to a question from Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (PN-Machang) who asked about the reason why many foreign investors are selling their shareholdings in the country.
Anwar also said global equity research firms such as Nomura Global Market Research, JP Morgan and HSBC have also upgraded their recommendations for public company shares.
Investment value increases, bond flows positive
The Prime Minister also said foreign investment into the country as a whole also 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.
The prime minister also emphasised that what is important to him is the rate of growth, increased investment and the strength of the ringgit.
"This is actually a sign in terms of fundamentals even though the problem 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," he added.
Meanwhile, in response to additional questions and suggestions from Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin (PN-Larut), Anwar also agreed with the proposed change in the leadership of Bursa Malaysia with the intention of providing an opportunity for reforms.
Anwar, meanwhile, criticised the opposition's claim that issues related to additional documents had caused the influx of foreign investment into Malaysia to collapse.
He described the claim as nonsense and not based on facts, which showed that the volume of domestic stock trading increased to RM2 trillion last year. - Bernama
