Foreign Investors Dump Taiwan Equities As Geopol Risks Increase

• South Korea: South Korean equities saw outflows of $193m yesterday, contributing to a net outflow of $638m over the past five trading days. South Korean equities have fared better than Taiwan's although have been dragged down with the wider sell-off in the tech space after the Biden Administration said they'd considered tougher trade restrictions on companies providing AI and semiconductor tech to China. The 5-day average outflow is $128m, significantly lower than the 20-day average inflow of $113m and the 100-day average inflow of $118m. Year-to-date, South Korea has experienced substantial inflows totaling $19.213b.
• Taiwan: Foreign investors continue to heavily sell Taiwanese equities with a significant outflow of $1.788b yesterday, this has resulted in a net outflow of $4.601b over the past five trading days. These large outflows are linked to Trump announcing that they should pay for US protection from China, with those comments cast doubts over whether the US would protect Taiwan, he also mentioned that Taiwan had taken all of the American semiconductor industry, with the market viewing this as growing concern he would impose tariffs or trade restrictions on them if he get in power. The 5-day average outflow is $920m, considerably lower than the 20-day average outflow of $400m and the 100-day average outflow of $50m. The heavy selling over the past week and seen all yearly inflows erased and now sits at a ytd outflow of $943m.
• India: Indian equities saw inflows of $199m yesterday, contributing to a net inflow of $1.544b over the past five trading days. Foreign investors have been strong buyers of Indian equities post the Indian Election in early June, with just two days of outflows. The 5-day average inflow is $309m, higher than the 20-day average inflow of $303m but below the 100-day average outflow of $41m. Year-to-date, India has experienced inflows totaling $3.243b.
• Indonesia: Indonesian equities recorded inflows of $72m yesterday, resulting in a net inflow of $118m over the past five trading days. This was the largest inflow since June 13th. The 5-day average outflow is $24m, below the 20-day average inflow of $20m and the 100-day average outflow of $8m. Year-to-date, Indonesia has experienced outflows totaling $127m.
• Thailand: Thai equities saw inflows of $36m yesterday, contributing to a net inflow of $41m over the past five trading days. The Thai SET is one of the worst performing equity markets in the region this year, as CPI crashed from a high of 8% in mid 2022 to -1% earlier this year, the Government have been calling for interest rate cuts although the BoT has held steady with more members voting to keep rates on hold than prior in June. The 5-day average inflow is $8m, better than the 20-day average outflow of $17m and the 100-day average outflow of $24m. Year-to-date, Thailand has seen significant outflows amounting to $3.299b.
• Malaysia: Malaysian equities experienced inflows of $5m yesterday, contributing to a 5-day net inflow of $139m. We have now since 14 straight session on inflows into the region, while the Malay Bursa KLCI Index hit multi-year highs. The 5-day average inflow is $28m, higher than the 20-day average inflow of $10m and the 100-day average outflow of $2m. Year-to-date, Malaysia has experienced inflows totaling $152m.
• Philippines: Philippine equities saw inflows of $7m yesterday, with a 5-day net inflow of $27.7m. Flows in the region have been muted recently with no real trend emerging. The 5-day average inflow is $6m, better than the 20-day average inflow of $0m and the 100-day average outflow of $7m. Year-to-date, the Philippines has seen outflows totaling $495m.

Table 1: EM Asia Equity Flows