According to data released on Friday, foreign investors pulled out a total of 1.18 trillion won (US$883.6 million) worth of South Korean stocks in August, resulting in a net sell-off. This brought the cumulative holdings of listed stocks by foreigners to 679.1 trillion won, or 26.1 percent of total market capitalization, at the end of the month.
Additionally, overseas investors disposed of a net 383 billion won worth of South Korean bonds in August, following six months of net purchases. Their cumulative holdings of bonds stood at 242.6 trillion won, accounting for 9.7 percent of listed bonds as of August 31.
The U.S. and Singapore were the biggest net buyers of stocks, investing 900 billion won and 500 billion won respectively, while Britain and Switzerland were the largest net sellers, offloading 1.3 trillion won and 400 billion won respectively. At the end of August, the U.S. had the highest holdings of South Korean stocks among foreign countries, possessing 278 trillion won, or 40.9 percent of total listed stocks held by foreigners.
In terms of bonds, Asia and the Americas were net buyers, while the Middle East and Europe were net sellers. Asia had the highest holdings of South Korean bonds with 113.5 trillion won, followed by Europe with 71.8 trillion won.
nyway@yna.co.kr
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