S. Korea's institutional investment in foreign securities rises in Q2

SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's institutional investment in foreign securities rose in the second quarter due to higher demand for both foreign stocks and bonds, central bank data showed Friday.

Outstanding investment in foreign securities, including foreign stocks and bonds owned by local financial institutions, amounted to 465.53 billion U.S. dollars at the end of June, up 34.76 billion dollars, or 8.1 percent, from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.

The central bank attributed the growth to the U.S. stock market boom and expectations for interest rate cuts in the United States.

The institutional holdings of foreign stocks advanced 24.29 billion dollars from three months earlier to 257.16 billion dollars at the end of June, while the ownership of foreign bonds climbed 9.19 billion dollars to 176.02 billion dollars.

The holdings of Korean Paper, which refers to the foreign currency-denominated bonds issued overseas by domestic institutions and companies, grew 1.28 billion dollars to 32.35 billion dollars in the cited quarter.

Foreign securities possessed by asset managers, insurers, securities firms and foreign exchange banks all expanded during the April-June quarter.