Foreign funds in stocks fall 44pc in July

Foreign investment in stocks dropped 44 percent month-on-month in July, as investors adopted a 'go-slow' policy amid a continuous rise in share prices.
Net investment by foreign investors in the last month stood at Tk 188.54 crore, down from June's Tk 336.60 crore, according to data from Dhaka Stock Exchange.
“Although the foreign investors were following a go-slow policy, they were always on the buy side throughout the month,” said Wali Ul Islam, chief executive officer of LankaBangla Securities, a stockbroker.
Foreign investors bought shares worth Tk 257.01 crore and sold stocks worth Tk 68.47 crore last month, according to DSE.
Banks were the foreign investors' preferred sector, but non-bank financial institutions, power and energy, pharmaceuticals, multinationals, telecoms and IT also caught their attention.
In comparison to the emerging markets of Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Pakistan, DSE has a higher growth potential, Islam said. “Ours is a developing economy with a private sector doing very well -- the half-yearly disclosures by the listed company are testament to it.”
He, however, expressed concern that any political chaos may hamper the inflow of foreign investment in the country's stockmarket. Also known as portfolio investment, foreign investment accounts for around 1 percent of the DSE's total market capitalisation.
Between January and July, foreign investors bought shares worth Tk 1,498.06 crore and sold stocks worth Tk 397.75 crore, showing net investment of Tk 1,100.31 crore, according to DSE data.