Foreign flows into Asian bonds turn positive, Malaysia leads

Foreign flows into Asian bonds turned positive in October, in stark contrast to the sharp outflows faced by equity markets due to slowing earnings and concerns over trade. Data from central banks and bond market associations showed overseas investors bought a net US$2.24 billion (RM9.4 billion) in Malaysian, Thai, Indonesian, South Korean and Indian bonds in the last month. That compared with net outflows of US$2.46 billion in September.

Malaysia’s bond market led the region with inflows of US$1.8 billion in October, the highest in 2018. At the end of last month, foreign ownership of Malaysian government securities rose to 40.7% from 39.5% in September, the data showed.

Thailand and Indonesian bond markets also attracted foreign money of US$1.07 billion and US$886 million, respectively.

“Thailand’s large current account surplus and growth recovery have boosted the perception of Thai debt as a relative safe haven in the region,” said Khoon Goh, Singapore-based head of Asia research for ANZ Banking Group in a note.