SEOUL, May 31 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's institutional investment in foreign securities grew in the first quarter owing to stock market booms in major economies, central bank data showed Friday.
Outstanding investment in foreign securities, including foreign stocks and bonds owned by local financial institutions, stood at 396.77 billion U.S. dollars at the end of March, up 9.02 billion dollars from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The growth was attributed to the booming global stock market, caused by expectations for interest rate cuts in the United States later this year.
The institutional holdings of foreign stocks expanded by 8.68 billion dollars in the January-March quarter, while the ownership of foreign bonds added by 280 million dollars.
The holdings of Korean Paper, which refers to the foreign currency-denominated bonds issued overseas by domestic institutions and companies, rose by 50 million dollars in the cited quarter.
Foreign securities owned by asset managers, foreign exchange banks and brokerages gained ground in the quarter, but the insurers-possessed securities went down. ■
