Foreign investors returned to Asian equities in August, ending a nine-month selling streak, with net purchases of US$4.72 billion across Taiwan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. A further US$1.52 billion entered the region in the first part of September, driven by strong technology earnings and renewed enthusiasm for AI-related stocks, although Thailand and the Philippines remained among the markets experiencing outflows.
Key figures / indicators: August Asian inflows US$4.72bn; September inflows so far US$1.52bn; MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan +3.01% in August; Asian corporate profits +44.7% y/y, with technology profits +88.3%.
Why it matters: The return of foreign capital is a constructive signal for ASEAN markets, but the distribution shows investors still favour North Asian AI and semiconductor exposure over Thailand. Bangkok’s challenge is to translate its data-centre, EV and digital-investment pipeline into listed companies and supply-chain opportunities capable of attracting a larger share of regional technology capital.
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