Foreign investors flooded the Brazilian equity market in January, outstripping every category of domestic trader, according to data released by the country’s exchange operator BM&FBovespa, as the slashing of a tax on foreign equity traders sparked a rush in offshore investment.

Equities trading data for January shows a plurality of trades in Bovespa stocks came from foreign investors, who accounted for 20% of stock purchases and 17.3% of stock sales. Domestic Brazilian institutional investors accounted for 16% and 17.4% respectively, with Brazilian individual investors and financial institutions following on behind.