Korea remains strong stock investment magnet

Korea’s stock market lured nearly 30 percent of foreign equity funds poured into emerging Asian countries last year, becoming the second-biggest investment destination after India, a report showed Thursday.

Foreign investors bought a net $18.9 billion of domestic shares in 2010, representing 29.7 percent of the total $63.9 billion in foreign net purchases among seven key emerging markets in the Asian region, the report by the Korea Center for International Finance said.

Last year’s fund flow to Korea was the second largest amount after India’s $29.4 billion, which accounted for 46 percent of the total sum, the report said.

In 2009, Korea attracted the largest amount of foreign stock funds, worth $24.8 billion, with India coming in second with $17.2 billion, the research institute said.

For 2010, Taiwan was the third largest foreign fund receiver with $9.2 billion, followed by Indonesia with $2.3 billion, Thailand with $2.1 billion, the Philippines with $1.2 billion and Vietnam with $697 million, according to the report.

“While overseas equity fund inflow to India skyrocketed last year, Korea and Taiwan also showed modest advances,” the center said in the report.

The report cited solid economic growth of about 8 percent in the Asian region, increased market liquidity stemming from advanced countries’ monetary easing and emerging currencies’ upward momentum as the main drivers behind strong fund movement to Asian countries.

The net purchasing mode of foreigners will continue into this year, but it will lose steam somewhat from 2010 due to slowing corporate earnings and rising interest rates as well as lingering global economic jitters, according to the report. 

(Yonhap News)