Net Inflow of 5 Trillion Won in Foreign Stock and Bond Funds in January

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] Foreign investors' net inflow into stocks and bonds exceeded 5 trillion won last month.

According to the 'January 2020 Foreign Securities Investment Trends' released by the Financial Supervisory Service on the 10th, foreign investors' domestic securities investment funds in January recorded a net inflow of 5.031 trillion won.

Last month, foreign investment funds increased mainly in bonds rather than stocks. Foreign investors net purchased 408 billion won in listed stocks and made a net investment of 4.623 trillion won in listed bonds, totaling a net investment of 5.031 trillion won.

As of the end of January, foreign investors held a total of 709.9 trillion won in listed securities, including 581.5 trillion won in listed stocks (33.8% of market capitalization) and 128.4 trillion won in listed bonds (7.0% of total listed balance).

Last month, foreign investors net purchased 408 billion won in listed stocks, holding 581.5 trillion won as of the end of January. They net purchased 770 billion won in the KOSPI market and net sold 360 billion won in the KOSDAQ market. Foreign investors maintained a net buying trend for two consecutive months after switching to net buying in December last year.

By region, Europe and Asia net purchased 1.7 trillion won and 100 billion won respectively, while the United States net sold 1.5 trillion won and the Middle East net sold 200 billion won. The holding scale by region showed the United States accounting for 246.1 trillion won, or 42.3% of the total foreign holdings. This was followed by Europe with 171.2 trillion won (29.4%), Asia with 73.4 trillion won (12.6%), and the Middle East with 19.7 trillion won (3.4%).

Last month, foreign investors net purchased 6.211 trillion won in listed bonds, resulting in a total net investment of 4.623 trillion won. This marked a return to net investment after four months since September last year.

By region, Asia net invested 3.3 trillion won, the Middle East 600 billion won, and Europe 500 billion won. In the Americas, there was a net withdrawal of 100 billion won. In terms of holdings, Asia accounted for 54.1 trillion won, or 42.1% of the total. Europe held 46.2 trillion won (36.0%), and the Americas 10.9 trillion won (8.5%).

By type, there was a net investment of 2.4 trillion won in government bonds and 2.2 trillion won in monetary stabilization bonds. The holding balance showed government bonds at 101.1 trillion won, accounting for 78.7% of the total, and monetary stabilization bonds at 26.4 trillion won, or 20.6%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.