Net fund outflows from foreign investors totaled US$5.45 billion last month, the third consecutive month of net foreign fund outflows and the highest after US$6.8 billion in March, Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) data showed on Monday.
The latest figure brought cumulative fund outflows by foreign investors in the first eight months of this year to a record US$16.7 billion amid persistent sales of local shares, the data showed.
That compared with net fund inflows of US$7.45 billion by foreign investors during the same period last year, the commission said.
Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei Times
Last month’s net fund outflows came as foreign investors sold a net NT$107 billion (US$3.48 billion) of local shares in the month following rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.
From January to last month, foreign investors sold a net NT$1.01 trillion of local shares, comprising net sales of NT$961.6 billion on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and net sales of NT$44.4 billion on the Taipei Exchange, the data showed.
Amid a high-interest rate environment, foreign investors are pursuing high-yield assets and have adjusted their holdings of local shares, the commission told an online news conference.
Foreign funds would return to the local market, as Taiwanese equities have good fundamentals, Securities and Futures Bureau Deputy Director Kao Ching-ping (高晶萍) said.
The average daily turnover of local shares has fallen to about NT$200 billion, compared with an average of NT$390 billion last year, indicating that investors have become more conservative toward local shares due to rate hikes and geopolitical tensions, Kao said.
The commission would monitor the situation and implement measures to boost the turnover if necessary, she said.
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