KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 1): The foreign shareholding in Bursa Malaysia Bhd fell to 14.8% in July 2022, the first on-month drop since January this year.

Looking back, the foreign shareholding in the local bourse operator stood at 14.4% in the month of January and February, respectively.

This was followed by 14.9% in March and April this year.

Subsequently, the foreign shareholding in Bursa Malaysia rose further to 15% in May and 15.1% in June, according to Bursa Malaysia's register of depositors.

On a year-on-year (y-o-y) comparison, the foreign shareholding in Bursa Malaysia was also lower from 19.1% as at June 2021.

Notably, the highest foreign shareholding ever recorded was 28.6% in March 2018.

Meanwhile, the bourse operator's net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022 (2QFY22) fell 33.16% y-o-y to RM59.47 million from RM88.97 million, dragged by decline in securities trading revenue, its filing showed on Thursday (July 28).

Its quarterly revenue declined 22.55% to RM151.89 million, from RM196.1 million previously.

For the first half ended June 30, 2022 (1HFY22), net profit dropped 39.42% to RM127.44 million, from RM210.36 million in the previous year, amid lower operating revenue. Its revenue for 1HFY22 shrank 25.96% y-o-y to RM317.19 million from RM428.37 million.

Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said the weaker revenue impacted by domestic and global developments, including global inflationary pressures, has led to weaker profitability.

Shares in Bursa Malaysia rose four sen or 0.61% to RM6.57 at 12.15pm, valuing it at RM5.32 billion.