Bursa Malaysia Bhd in its report titled “Analysis on Institutional Capital Flow for the First Quarter of 2024” posted on X, stated that North American investors continued to add Malaysian equities into their portfolios, with an inflow amounting to US$413.5 million (RM1.93154 billion) during the quarter.
“In Q1 2024, The Vanguard Group Inc reverted to net buyer of Malaysian equities and recorded US$259.7 million (RM1.21311 billion) of foreign inflow from -US$308.4 million (-RM1.44061 billion) in Q4 2023.
“It largely net added US$121.3 million (RM566.63 million) worth of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd’s shares to its portfolios,” it said.
The local bourse said T. Rowe Price Hong Kong Ltd also net added Malaysian equities which amounted to US$215.4 million (RM1.0062 billion), with buying interest mainly in the financial sector.
“On top of that, inflows from BlackRock Fund Advisors increased significantly quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to US$108.7 million (RM507.76 million) from US$14.2 million (RM 66.33 million) in Q4 2023, the highest net purchase over the past four quarters,” it added.
At the industry level, it said foreign investors purchased into the financial industry with a significant US$344.9 million (RM1.61108 billion) inflow, driven primarily by The Vanguard Group at US$162.4 million (RM758.6 million) followed by T. Rowe Price Hong Kong at US$141.8 million (RM662.37 million).
“Financial counters that topped foreign inflows were CIMB Group Holdings at US$231.1 million (RM1.07953 billion) and Malayan Banking Bhd at US$196.6 million (RM918.37 million),” it said.
Based on S&P Global Market Intelligence’s sample of over 2,000 institutions and funds, aggregated flow from global and domestic funds became net buyers in Q1 2024 with a collective inflow of US$1,091.1 million (RM5.09693 billion) (Q4 2023: -RM2,502.9 million).
Domestic investors were the largest supporters of Malaysian equities, driving a significant inflow of US$493.1 million (RM2.30346 billion) with EPF being the major contributor with a net buy of US$599.5 million (RM2.8005 billion).
Bursa said the nine government-linked investment companies (GLICs) tracked in the database turned net buyers in Q1 2024 after net adding US$226.5 million (RM1.05803 billion) worth of local equities from -US$870 million (-RM4.06398 billion).
Meanwhile, Bursa said technology remained the preferred sector after having net bought for the fourth straight quarter.
“In Q1 2024, GLICs further increased their purchase momentum to US$547.5 million (RM2.55748 billion) worth of technology stocks, representing 22.8 times from the previous quarter from US$24 million (RM112.11 million) in Q4 2023.
“The momentum was primarily driven by Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) which contributed US$401.1 million (RM1.87363 billion) of net inflow, followed by EPF at US$175.8 million (RM821.17 million),” it said.
In addition, the local bourse said with PNB’s support, Maxis Bhd received a net inflow of US$452.4 million (RM2.1132 billion) in Q1 2024 which offset disposal by other GLICs.
The report is based on S&P Global Market Intelligence’s database.