Foreign Investors Sell Record 47 Trillion Won of South Korean Stocks but Hold Record 35.3 % of Market

Foreign investors sold a net 47 trillion won ($30.4 billion) worth of South Korean stocks in May, Yonhap reported. The figure surpassed the previous record monthly net selling of 43.51 trillion won set in March, according to data released June 26 by the Financial Supervisory Service.

Net sales in the first five months of the year totaled 114.22 trillion won, compared with 11.08 trillion won in the same period a year earlier.

After the May transactions, foreign investors held 2,852.3 trillion won in South Korean stocks, equal to 35.3 percent of total market capitalization. U.S. investors accounted for 28.86 trillion won of the May equity sales.

Canadian investors sold a net 4.2 trillion won. In the bond market, foreign investors bought a net 11.72 trillion won of South Korean bonds during May. Their bond holdings stood at 333.6 trillion won as of the end of the month, representing 11.7 percent of listed bonds.