Foreign Investors Turn Net Buyers of South Korean Stocks After 8 Months, Purchase 344 Billion Won in August

Foreign investors turned net buyers of South Korean stocks in August for the first time in eight months, purchasing a net 344 billion won.

The Financial Supervisory Service said on September 18 in its August report on foreign securities investment trends that overseas investors made net purchases of 344 billion won of listed shares last month. They bought a net 1.888 trillion won on the Kospi and sold a net 1.545 trillion won on the Kosdaq.

By region, U.S. investors were net buyers of 1.34 trillion won. Investors from Europe, Asia and the Middle East were net sellers of 1.07 trillion won, 120 billion won and 40 billion won, respectively. By holdings, U.S. investors accounted for the largest share at 999.7 trillion won, or 43.8% of the total. Europe held 676.9 trillion won, or 29.7%, followed by Asia with 312.8 trillion won, or 13.7%, and the Middle East with 44.1 trillion won, or 1.9%.

In the bond market, foreign funds posted net outflows for the first time in four months. Overseas investors sold a net 3.935 trillion won of listed bonds last month and received 801 billion won in redemptions, bringing total net withdrawals to 4.736 trillion won. As of the end of August, foreign holdings of listed bonds stood at 330.3 trillion won, down 5.8 trillion won from a month earlier.

Foreign holdings of South Korean listed securities, including stocks and bonds, totaled 2,610.878 trillion won at the end of last month, down 4.392 trillion won from the previous month-end.