SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's institutional investments in foreign securities rebounded in the April-June quarter on expectations for expanding artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investments, central bank data showed Tuesday.
Outstanding investments in foreign securities, including foreign stocks and bonds held by local financial institutions, totaled 549.68 billion U.S. dollars at the end of June, up 9.3 percent from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It marked a turnaround from 0.9 percent decline in the January-March quarter, driven by growing optimism over the AI-related investments that led to a stock market rally in major economies.
The institutional holdings of foreign stocks soared 45.76 billion dollars to 334.27 billion dollars in the second quarter as a result of sustained net investments and valuation gains from rising stock prices.
The ownership of foreign bonds was unchanged at 181.85 billion dollars, while the holdings of Korean Paper, which refers to the foreign currency-denominated bonds issued overseas by domestic institutions and companies, added 960 million dollars to 33.57 billion dollars.
Foreign securities possessed by asset managers, foreign exchange banks and securities firms increased in the cited quarter, but those by insurers lost ground. ■
