Record High Foreign Currency Securities Custody and Settlement Amounts via Korea Securities Depository... Tesla Tops Foreign Currency Stocks

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Last year, the amount of foreign currency securities held by domestic investors through the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) reached a record high of $72.22 billion (as of year-end), and the settlement amount reached $323.39 billion (annual basis), also marking an all-time high.

According to the KSD on the 21st, as of the end of last year, the amount of foreign currency securities held by domestic investors through the KSD increased by 65.6% compared to the end of 2019 ($43.62 billion). Foreign currency stocks amounted to $47.07 billion, a 225.7% increase compared to the end of 2019 ($14.45 billion), while foreign currency bonds amounted to $25.14 billion, a 13.8% decrease compared to the end of 2019 ($29.16 billion).

By overseas market, the United States accounted for the largest share at 52.1% of the total holdings, and the top five markets?United States, Euro market, Hong Kong, China, and Japan?accounted for 97.6% of the total holdings.

On an annual basis in 2020, the settlement amount of foreign currency securities by domestic investors through the KSD was $323.39 billion, an 88.9% increase compared to 2019 ($171.22 billion). Foreign currency stocks amounted to $198.32 billion, a 383.9% increase compared to 2019 ($40.98 billion), while foreign currency bonds amounted to $125.07 billion, a 4.0% decrease compared to 2019 ($130.23 billion). By overseas market, the United States accounted for the largest share at 61.0% of the total settlement amount, and the top five markets?United States, Euro market, Hong Kong, China, and Japan?accounted for 99.9% of the total settlement amount.

The top foreign currency stock settlement items were Tesla, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia, in that order. The annual settlement amount for Tesla (United States), the top item, was $23.29 billion, a 470-fold increase compared to 2019 ($480 million).

With the increase in foreign currency securities holdings and settlement amounts, the scale of rights exercise processing related to foreign currency securities through the KSD, such as cash dividends, stock splits, and mergers, also increased. In particular, the cash dividends generated from foreign currency securities in 2020 amounted to $313 million, a 71% increase compared to 2019 ($183 million).

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