The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed at 1,209.48 points yesterday (2 Jan 2007), breeching the 1,200 barrier, and is now poised to overtake the high of 10 years ago.
According to the Bursa Malaysia, there is a lot of interest from foreign institutional buyers and it is their money that has made the local market one of the best performing in Asian markets since the start of the year. That’s quite an achievement, considering that it had been underperforming in the past years.
There are reports that a quarter of Tenaga Nasional Berhad shares are in the hands of foreigners, as also 40 per cent of Bumiputtra-Commerce Holdings Berhad. Even about a third of the public-listed Bursa Malaysia Berhad is owned by foreigners. Of course, one also suspects that foreign interest is also significant in other counters but the extent is not known widely.