Foreign Investors Sell $5.5 Billion of Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix Shares This Week as Ownership Hits Multi-Year Lows

Foreign investors sold 7.6 trillion won ($5.5 billion) worth of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shares this week. Their ownership stakes in both companies also fell to the lowest levels in years.

Foreign investors were net sellers of about 10.4 trillion won ($7.5 billion) on South Korea’s main stock market from Nov. 2 to Nov. 6, according to the Korea Exchange and other market data.

SK Hynix was the stock they sold most heavily on a net basis by value, with net selling totaling about 5.4 trillion won ($3.9 billion).

Samsung Electronics ranked second, with net selling of 2.2 trillion won ($1.6 billion). Combined net selling in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix reached 7.6 trillion won ($5.5 billion) this week.

The sustained selling sharply reduced foreign ownership in both stocks. Foreign ownership in Samsung Electronics stood at 45.95% as of Nov. 6, according to the Korea Exchange. That was the lowest level in about 17 years, since July 7, 2009, when the figure was 45.83%.

Foreign ownership in SK Hynix stood at 48.27% as of Nov. 6. That was the lowest level in five years since Nov. 22, 2021, when it was 47.97%.

The selling also sent both stocks sharply lower over the week. Samsung Electronics closed at 188,700 won on Nov. 6, down 16.13% from 225,000 won on Oct. 30. SK Hynix fell 20.17% over the same period, dropping from 1.418 million won to 1.132 million won.