Foreign investors turn net sellers of Korean stocks in November

SEOUL, December 12 (AJP) - Foreign investors sold more than 13 trillion won ($9.7 billion) worth of South Korean equities in November, turning net sellers for the first time in six months, while resuming net purchases of local bonds.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Friday, offshore investors recorded net equity sales of 13.4 trillion won. They offloaded 13.5 trillion won on the Kospi but were modest net buyers on the Kosdaq, purchasing 118 billion won.

Foreign investors held 1,193 trillion won in listed equities and 322 trillion won in listed bonds as of the end of November, a combined total of 1,515 trillion won.

Equity holdings fell 56.1 trillion won from October due to the sell-off, while bond holdings rose 14.6 trillion won on renewed net investment.

European investors posted the largest net equity sales at 5.7 trillion won, followed by investors from the Americas with 3.6 trillion won and Asia with 2.7 trillion won. By country, the United Kingdom and the United States were the biggest net sellers, unloading 4.5 trillion won and 4.1 trillion won, respectively. Canada and Ireland were net buyers, at 500 billion won and 400 billion won.

U.S. investors remained the biggest equity holders with 489 trillion won, or 41 percent of the total, followed by European investors with 375.3 trillion won (31.5 percent), Asian investors with 164.8 trillion won (13.8 percent) and Middle Eastern investors with 19.8 trillion won (1.7 percent).

In the bond market, foreigners bought a net 17.62 trillion won in listed bonds in November and saw 1.37 trillion won mature, resulting in net investment of 16.25 trillion won.

European investors led net bond purchases with 9.6 trillion won, followed by Asian investors with 4.5 trillion won and investors from the Americas with 1.7 trillion won. By holdings, Asian investors accounted for the largest share at 42.7 percent (137.2 trillion won), while European investors held 37.1 percent (119.2 trillion won).

* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.

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