Institutions' foreign securities holdings rise in 2023
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading in New York City, Feb. 23. AFP-Yonhap
Korean institutions' investment in foreign securities increased last year as they boosted investments in overseas stocks amid robust earnings from an artificial intelligence and chip-related stock rally and the U.S. economy's sound growth, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The outstanding value of foreign securities held by local institutional investors stood at $387.76 billion as of end-December 2023, up $22.47 billion from a year ago, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.
The on-year growth is attributed to a rise in the value of foreign stocks held by them in major markets.
Foreign securities include stocks, bonds and "Korean paper," which refers to foreign currency-denominated securities issued by the Korean government, banks and companies in overseas markets.
Local institutions' investment in foreign stocks surged $23.76 billion on-year to $196.93 billion, while the value of their foreign bond holdings contracted $1.24 billion to $162.6 billion over the cited period, the data showed. (Yonhap)