(March 23): Global funds dumped more than US$1 billion ($1.28 billion) of Thai bonds this month, putting the market on track for its biggest foreign sell-off in four years, as investors exit emerging markets on escalating Middle East tensions.
Overseas investors withdrew US$1.2 billion last Friday, the largest since March 2022, according to data from the Thai Bond Market Association. They also offloaded US$1.2 billion of Thai equities, set for the biggest in two years.
The war in the Middle East has prompted money managers to retreat from emerging markets, with surging oil prices fanning inflation worries and widening current-account deficits. Thai bonds have delivered an 8.5% loss to dollar-based investors on a hedged basis in March, among the worst in the region, while stocks have fallen more than 8%.
Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee
