KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd is positive over outlook for the local equity market, provided, the government introduces initiatives or policies that can lift it.
“We are hoping some of the government initiatives being looked into or policy shifts it is supposed to bring about, will start materialising at this point of time,” chief executive officer, Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan told reporters here today after a briefing on the local stock exchange operator’s 2018 financial year.
He said market sentiment was dampened when the new government was elected last year with Bursa Malaysia adjusting to government policy shifts.
He added that the new government had to also adjust its financial position and that is to be respected with everybody now waiting to see what policies and direction the government provides,” he added.
Tajuddin said externally, Bursa Malaysia is expected to be influenced by, among others, the US-China trade tensions, China’s economic growth and US interest rate hikes.
Nevertheless, he said Bursa Malaysia would continue to be resilient, given the country’s sound economic fundamentals and its diversified economic sectors and investor base.
Tajuddin is also optimist that the initial public offerings (IPOs) this year would exceed that of last year.
He said the low IPO exercise last year, especially on the Main Market, was due to weak sentiment, causing companies to hold their listings despite receiving approval.
“Moving forward this year, we have seen four listings, two on the ACE Market and two more on the LEAP Market. Some of those who received approvals earlier will most probably come back this year,” he added.
On foreign funds, Tajuddin said there were positive signs of a reversal in trends, which saw an outflow of US$2.88 billion last year.
“Apart from yesterday and today, the previous two weeks have seen a positive number of foreign investors, which to me is either a reversal of the trend or neutralisation of the negative trend.
“The market momentum which was relatively negative towards the last two quarters of 2018 is changing now,” he added. – Bernama
