EOUL: Foreigners bought South Korean stocks for the fifth straight month due to solid demand for semiconductor stocks and the government’s efforts to boost the stock market, financial watchdog data showed Thursday.
Offshore investors purchased a net 6.07 trillion won (4.3 billion U.S. dollars) worth of local listed stocks in September, remaining net buyers since May, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
Foreign investors turned into net buyers in the main bourse KOSPI, but they shifted into net sellers in the smaller KOSDAQ market.
The foreign stock purchase came as President Lee Jae-myung revised laws and regulations to bolster the stock market.
Demand surged for semiconductor stocks amid expectations for higher chip demand relevant to artificial intelligence (AI).
Foreign holdings of local listed stocks totaled 1,014.6 trillion won (714.9 billion dollars) at the end of September, taking up 28.7 percent of the total market capitalization.
Overseas investors snapped up a net 10.08 trillion won (7.1 billion dollars) worth of local listed bonds in September.
Given the maturing debts worth 9.29 trillion won (6.5 billion dollars), the foreign net investment in the local bond market stood at 791 billion won (557.4 million dollars) last month.
The foreign ownership of domestic listed bonds amounted to 308.3 trillion won (217.3 billion dollars) at the end of September, accounting for 11.3 percent of the total listed bonds. –Agencies
