According to the Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday, foreigners net sold 43.5 trillion won ($31.8 billion) worth of locally listed shares last month, more than doubling from February’s 19.6 trillion won outflow.
The exodus was concentrated in the benchmark KOSPI which was making record-breaking rally until the war outbreak. Foreign nationals 43.9 trillion won on the main bourse, while posting a modest 384 billion won net buy in the KOSDAQ.
By end-March, foreign holdings of Korean equities fell to 1,576.2 trillion won, down 449.4 trillion won from a month earlier, with their ownership share slipping to 30.7 percent of total market capitalization.
The sell-off was broad-based across regions. Europe led the outflows with 26.4 trillion won, followed by the Americas at 9.8 trillion won and Asia at 5.6 trillion won, while the Middle East was the only region to post a net purchase.
At the country level, the United Kingdom and the United States accounted for the bulk of selling, while Qatar and the Cayman Islands were among the few net buyers.
In fixed income, foreign investors turned net sellers for the first time in five months, withdrawing 10.9 trillion won overall. They purchased 5.4 trillion won worth of bonds but redeemed 16.4 trillion won at maturity, resulting in a net outflow, fanning the bond yields to rise to levels of the rapid tightening cycle in the U.S.
Foreign holdings of listed bonds stood at 323.8 trillion won, or 11.6 percent of outstanding balances, at end-March.
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