KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign investors turned net sellers of Malaysian bonds in June, resulting in a net foreign outflow of RM497.1mil.
This effectively ended a 13-month streak of net foreign inflows, with falling demand observed since May. Shorter-tenured Bank Negara securities and Malaysian Treasury Bills (MTB)/Malaysian Islamic Treasury Bills (MITB) accounted for the bulk of the June sell-off, totalling RM1.2bil.
The downtick was mitigated by a more subdued inflow of RM686.2mil into Malaysian Government Securities(MGS)/Government Investment Issues (GII), less than half of the RM1.7bil recorded in May.
The continued weak foreign appetite may be partly attributed to heightened risk aversion amid rising Covid-19 infections, the extension of full lockdowns, and uncertainties on the economic and political front.
10:40 AM MYT
Cagamas president and CEO Datuk Chung Chee Leong (pic) said there was continued interest in its short term papers, ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Monetary Policy Committee meeting last week.
KUALA LUMPUR: Cagamas Bhd issued RM300mil three-month Islamic commercial papers (ICPs) and the proceeds will be used to purchase of Shariah compliant assets.
The National Mortgage Corporation of Malaysia said on Tuesday the ICPs will be issued under the Islamic Commodity Murabahah structure.
Cagamas president and CEO Datuk Chung Chee Leong (pic) said there was continued interest in its short term papers, ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Monetary Policy Committee meeting last week.
Amro economist Diana del Rosario (pic) said in a briefing that Malaysia “clearly needs to restore fiscal buffers” once the economic recovery is achieved.
PETALING JAYA: Amid Malaysia’s burgeoning debt levels as the government resorts to borrowings to save the economy, the revival of the goods and services tax (GST) is seen as a much-needed lifeline for the country’s debt dilemma.
Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (Amro) said that the government’s aim to bring down the debt ratio to 55% of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2023 would be challenging to achieve under baseline assumptions.
However, with the reintroduction of GST, the government debt ratio could be lowered substantially as revenue base widens and the pace of fiscal consolidation is accelerated.
Not many knew of the existence of the National Trust Fund (KWAN) until the government using its emergency powers decided to tap into it to procure Covid-19 vaccines and meet any other related expenses incurred.
The fund was set up in 1988 to help build up the country’s wealth and prepare it when resources from oil and other commodities are depleted. It is also known as the National Heritage Fund.
Towards meeting this objective, when crude oil was north of US$90 per barrel (and even breached the US$100 barrier) for a few years before prices collapsed in June 2014, Petronas contributed to the fund aggressively. Other commodity sectors such as timber, oil palm and rubber are supposed to contribute too but, so far, only Petronas has done so.
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