Data released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Friday showed that South Korean institutions’ investments in foreign securities had risen in the second quarter of the year due to the appreciation of overseas stocks and investments, as well as reduced anxieties in the global financial market.
At the end of June, the total value of foreign securities held by local institutional investors was $373.43 billion, an increase of $3.3 billion from the previous quarter. This growth was mainly due to a surge in the value of foreign stocks held by them and more investments being made.
Foreign securities include stocks, bonds, and “Korean paper,” which refers to foreign currency-denominated securities issued by the South Korean government, banks, and companies in foreign markets.
The data also revealed that while the value of local institutions’ foreign stock holdings had risen by $8.19 billion, the value of their foreign bond holdings had decreased by $3.87 billion.
sam@yna.co.kr
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