Foreign selling of Malaysian stocks slows
GEORGE TOWN: The International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) will introduce by the first quarter of 2019 the readiness assessment criteria for the migration of 500 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to industry 4.0 platform.
Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Ong Kian Ming said Miti was now identifying 500 SMEs for migration in 2019.
He said a sum of RM210mil would be provided for the 500 SMEs to carry out the Readiness Assessment to migrate to industry 4.0 platforms via Malaysia Productivity Corp.
Ong added that another RM7.12bil had been allocated for various initiatives to support industry 4.0 and digitalisation.
“Companies not only need to adopt automation and other smart technologies but also invest in their talent by retraining the workforce and undertake collaborations with the many training institutions that are already available in the country,” Ong said.
He said this at a briefing after officiating a seminar on automation and industry 4.0 organised by Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF). Also present was MIDF group managing director Datuk Charon Mokhzani.
Meanwhile, Charon said MIDF had approved 2,052 loans for companies operating in the northern region – Penang, Perak, Kedah and Perlis – amounting to RM2.55bil since its inception.
Since August 2018, MIDF has allocated RM150mil to finance SMEs looking to improve and expand their business, according to Charon. KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign funds continued to sell shares listed on Bursa Malaysia for the fifth week albeit at a slower pace, according to MIDF Research.
“Based on data from Bursa Malaysia, foreign funds sold RM80.3mil net of local equities last week. This was one third of the amount disposed in the preceding week,” MIDF said in its weekly fund flow report.
The research house noted that foreign funds started last week by selling off RM83.1mil net on Monday despite the 90-day ceasefire over the trade war between Beijing and Washington. This bucked the trend of other regional markets such as South Korea and Taiwan, which experienced massive inflows following the latest international trade development.
However, MIDF said offshore investors turned net buyers as they bought RM76.1mil and RM69.9mil last Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, amidst the advance in Brent crude oil price to US$62 per barrel ahead of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting last Thursday.
This coincided with the ringgit’s 0.45% appreciation to its highest level in more than a month to 4.1465 per US dollar.
Asian markets including Malaysia skidded and prompted investors to retreat to the sidelines following the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer. As such, Malaysia saw a foreign net outflow of RM59.9mil last Thursday.