Number of stock investors edges up despite market slump

The number of stock investors in the country rose slightly by 1.2 percent in 2013 despite a protracted slump in the South Korean stock market, data showed Tuesday.

According to the Korea Exchange, the number of stock investors here stood at 5.07 million as of 2013, up from 5.01 million in 2012.

Among the investors, individual investors accounted for slightly over 5 million, or almost 20 percent of the country’s economically active population, the data showed. In terms of market capitalization, retail investors’ presence in the local stock market weakened last year. They accounted for 23.6 percent of the total market capitalization in 2013, down 0.4 percentage point from 2012.

In contrast, foreign and institutional investors increased their foothold.

Foreigner ownership of local shares came to 32.9 percent of market capitalization in 2013, up 0.5 percentage point from a year earlier. The comparable figure for institutional investors was 16.1 percent last year, also up from 15.8 percent in 2012.

(tellme@heraldcorp.com)