Overseas securities investment in Q1 hits record high

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- South Koreans' overseas securities investment soared in the first quarter, largely on hopes that the coronavirus-hit stock prices may rebound down the road, data showed Thursday.

The local investors' transactions of overseas securities in January-March came to US$66.6 billion, up 68.2 percent from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD).

The reading marks the highest quarterly tally since the KSD began compiling the official data in 2011.

Of the total, holdings of foreign stocks shot up 162.9 percent to $27.5 billion, with bond holdings advancing 34.3 percent to $39.1 billion.

The steep rise of the overseas securities investment stemmed from the local investors' optimism that stock markets can eventually rebound after the COVID-19 stock market correction.

In the three-month period, South Korean investment in U.S. stocks skyrocketed 174.8 percent to $22.9 billion, particularly for tech shares.

They raked in $1.47 billion worth of Tesla, up a jaw-dropping 764.7 percent from the previous quarter.

Next in the purchasing size came Apple at $1.15 billion, followed by Microsoft at $1.06 billion.

jwc@yna.co.kr
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