British investors led the sell-off of South Korean stocks
In July, foreign investors net sold 31.7 trillion won, or $22.9 billion, worth of shares in South Korean companies. Investors from the United Kingdom were the largest sellers, while U.S. funds remained net buyers, according to The Korea Herald, citing data from South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service.
The net outflow of foreign capital from the stock market continued for the seventh consecutive month. The bulk of the sales occurred on the main Kospi exchange, where non-residents sold a net 30.8 trillion won worth of securities. On the Kosdaq exchange, they sold 889 billion won worth of shares.
European investors accounted for the largest volume of sales by region—25.7 trillion won. Investors from Asia net sold shares worth 5.2 trillion won, while those from the Middle East net sold shares worth 1.6 trillion won. Meanwhile, investors from the Americas net purchased shares worth 1.1 trillion won.
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By country, the largest sellers were investors from the United Kingdom, who sold 20.2 trillion won worth of stocks. Investors from Singapore sold 3.8 trillion won worth of stocks. American investors, on the other hand, were net buyers of South Korean stocks worth 3.5 trillion won, while Australian investors were net buyers of 1.4 trillion won worth of shares.
As of the end of July, foreign investors held 2,255.5 trillion won worth of listed South Korean stocks, accounting for 35.8% of total market capitalization. The largest share of these assets belonged to U.S. investors—977.8 trillion won; European investors held shares worth 675.9 trillion won.
At the same time, foreign investors increased their investments in South Korean bonds for the fourth consecutive month. In July, they purchased listed debt securities for a net total of 4.77 trillion won, and after accounting for redemptions, net investments amounted to 2.39 trillion won. Investors from Asia accounted for the largest inflow—2.7 trillion won.
