Korean institutions buy more foreign securities

Published : Feb 28, 2017 - 13:50 Updated : Feb 28, 2017 - 13:50

South Korean institutions' investment in overseas securities jumped 43 percent on-year in 2016, driven by the growth of bond purchases by insurers and asset management firms, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The amount of stocks and bonds held by local institutional investors came to $173.7 billion as of the end of last year, up $52.2 billion from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea .

A pile of US banknotes in a file photo. (Yonhap)

"It's mainly attributable to a surge in new investment largely in foreign bonds by insurance and asset management firms," it said.

Insurers and asset management companies raised their investment in foreign securities by $22.4 billion and $19.6 billion won, respectively.

Investment by foreign exchange banks and securities firms climbed at a relatively small amount.

By type, the country's institutions bought a net $37 billion of foreign bonds and a net $6.9 billion of equities.

The purchase of the so-called Korean Paper also added $8.3 billion. Korean Paper refers to foreign currency-denominated securities sold abroad by South Korean entities like the government, financial institutions and companies. (Yonhap)