Foreign investors boost S. Korean stock holdings for 7th month

SEOUL, July 10 (Yonhap) -- Offshore investors continued to pour money into South Korean stock markets last month, remaining net buyers of local stocks for a seventh consecutive month, official data showed Monday.

Foreign investors boosted their holdings of local stocks by a net 1.75 trillion won (US$1.51 billion) in June to 597.7 trillion won, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.

For the first six months of this year, offshore investors bought a net 10.8 trillion won worth of shares issued by South Korean businesses.

At the end of June, foreign investors' stock holdings accounted for 33.1 percent of local stocks.

Investors from the United States, France, Ireland and Canada raised their holdings of local stocks last month, the latest data showed.

Foreign investors also purchased a net 1.5 trillion won worth of local bonds last month.

During the January-June period, offshore investors bought a net 14.5 trillion won worth of local bonds, according to the data.

At the end of June, foreign investors' holdings of local debts stood at 103.8 trillion won, accounting for 6.3 percent of the bond market.
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