Foreign investors reduce South Korea bonds, stock holdings again

Foreign investors continued to be net sellers of South Korean bonds in September, as many redeemed their holdings at maturity, official data showed on Monday. Offshore investors' bond holdings decreased by a net 3.7 trillion won ($3.28 billion) in September, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). There was a net decrease of 2.2 trillion won in August.
FSS said that redemption of monetary stabilisation bonds (MSBs) at maturity more than offset new purchases. As of September, investors in Europe and North America were the main net sellers of South Korean bonds, trimming a net 2.1 trillion won and 0.9 trillion won worth, respectively. By region, investors from Asia remained the largest, holding 40.9 trillion won of domestic bonds. Investors in Europe and North America held 32.4 trillion won and 11.3 trillion won each.