Foreign investors bought a net 14.2 trillion won (US$10.9 billion) worth of South Korean stocks and bonds in May, logging a record monthly purchase, the country’s financial regulator said Thursday.
Foreigners bought a net 3.3 trillion won worth of listed stocks, continuing the net purchase for the second consecutive month, and bought a record-high net 10.9 trillion won of listed bonds, continuing the net purchase for the third consecutive month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.
Their cumulative holdings of stocks came in at 693.3 trillion won, taking up 27.1 percent of total market capitalization, and the cumulative holdings of bonds totaled 238.7 trillion won, accounting for 9.7 percent of listed bonds, as of last month.
By country, the United States was the top net buyer of stocks, followed by Luxembourg and Ireland, while Britain was the top net seller of stocks, trailed by Australia and Denmark.
The U.S. was also the biggest holder of South Korean stocks, possessing 282 trillion won, or 40.7 percent of Korean stocks held by foreigners, as of May.
With bonds, Europe, Middle East, Asia and the Americas all made net purchases, with Europe making the biggest purchase of 3.4 trillion won.
By holdings, Asia is the biggest holder of bonds with 107.5 trillion won, followed by Europe with 71.3 trillion won.
Foreigners made net investments worth 8.2 trillion won in Treasury bonds and 4.2 trillion won in monetary stabilization bonds.
Source: Yonhap News Agency