KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — Foreign investors sold off Malaysian stocks for 14 straight weeks up to the end of July — the longest since 2008 — MIDF Equities Research said in its report today.

In the report quoted by English daily The Star, MIDF said a total of RM11.7 billion of foreign fund has exited the Malaysian bourse by then, compared to only RM6.9 billion in total for the entirety of last year.

“Foreign investors have now been net sellers on Bursa for 14 consecutive weeks, the longest stretch of back-to-back weekly sell-down since the 2008 Financial Crisis,” the research firm said, referring to national stock exchange Bursa Malaysia.

In the week ending July 31, MIDF said investors labelled as “foreign” had sold stock listed on the Bursa amounting to RM845 million on average, up from RM830.1 million the week before.

The foreign investors sold their holdings heavily between Monday and Wednesday, with net sales reaching between RM200 million and RM300 million a day, surpassing the daily threshold 26 times.

In comparison, there were only 23 days when this threshold was exceeded for all of 2014.

“We note, however, that foreign investors were net buyers on Friday, mopping up RM132 million net, the first purchase in 12 trading days. However, it is too early to assume that the trend in money flow is reversing,” it said.

“For July, the cumulative net foreign outflow was RM2.81 billion, compared with the RM3.2 billion deficit in June. For 2015, last week’s sell-down increased the cumulative net foreign outflow to RM11.7 billion, significantly surpassing the RM6.9 billion outflow for the entire 2014.”

Bursa Malaysia fell 0.1 per cent today, in line with a drop in the ringgit, amid continuing political pressure on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak stemming from the controversy over debt-ridden 1 Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

Last Tuesday, Najib reshuffled his Cabinet to remove critics of Putrajaya’s handling of the 1MDB scandal and recruited four members of a parliamentary watchdog that is probing the firm into his administration, consequently freezing the investigation.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) fell by 10.06 points at the end of trading that hours after the reshuffle.

Several stocks widely linked to newly-appointed Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi — Tekala Corporation Bhd, Kreta Holdings Bhd and Salcon Bhd — saw their prices increasing by 30.36 per cent, 10.84 per cent, and 2.55 per cent respectively.