KUALA LUMPUR (May 20): Malaysia’s net international investment position dropped dramatically by over 90% to RM10.9 billion in the first quarter of this year (1QFY16), from RM110.3 billion in Q4 last year, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

In a statement today, the department said Malaysian-owned assets abroad plunged; decreasing RM110 billion to stand at RM1555.6 billion, while the drop in foreign-owned assets proved more mild, falling RM11.6 billion to record RM1544.7 billion.

It said direct investment registered a net assets position of RM31.1 billion at the end of 1QFY16, dropping RM20.4 billion from the previous quarter. With a RM 58.7 billion drop, direct investment abroad (DIA) stock took the biggest hit, falling to RM528.8 billion at the end of 1QFY16.

Investment was generated mainly in the financial & insurance sector at 31.1%, followed by the mining sector at 26.1% and information & communication sector at 9.1%. The top three DIA destinations were Singapore, Indonesia and Canada.

Additionally, foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks in Malaysia accounted for RM497.7 billion at the end of 1QFY16, compared to RM504.9 billion at the end of 4QFY15. The manufacturing sector remained the highest FDI recipient of 42.9%, followed by financial & insurance sector at 22.1% and information & communications sector of 9.2%. Top three investing countries of FDI were Singapore, Japan and Netherlands.

In terms of portfolio investment, level of portfolio investment assets posted at RM279.6 billion, while total stock value of portfolio investment liabilities stood at RM635.5 billion.

Other investment assets in 1QFY16 accumulated to RM269.6 billion, and the position of other investment liabilities accounted for RM317.1 billion.

Meanwhile, foreign reserves of Bank Negara Malaysia at the end of this quarter remained relatively stable, standing at RM381.5 billion as compared to RM409 billion in the previous quarter.