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| ▲ Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, the United States, on Feb. 17, 2026, in this photo provided by Reuters. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
foreigners-Korean stocks
Foreign holdings of S. Korean stocks nearly double in 2025: data
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- The value of South Korean stocks held by offshore investors nearly doubled from a year earlier in 2025, amid an unprecedented stock rally led by semiconductors, industry data showed Wednesday.
Foreigners held a total of 1,326.8 trillion won (US$918.3 billion) worth of stocks listed in the local market as of end-December, according to the data from the Financial Securities Service (FSS).
The figure marks a 96.9 percent spike from the 673.7 trillion won tallied at end-2024, according to the data.
Such an increase, however, comes largely from a sharp rise in the value of local shares, with the country's total market capitalization surging over 77 percent to 3,478 trillion won from 1,963 trillion won over the one-year period.
Offshore investors net sold 9.2 trillion won of local shares last year, according to the data.
By country, investors from the United States held the largest share of local securities, at 546 trillion won. The figure more than doubled from 272 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to the data.
Trailing behind were investors from Britain and Singapore, holding 144 trillion won and 88 trillion won, respectively.
British investors were the most frequent traders of local stocks, with their transactions totaling 1,031 trillion won over the one-year period. They accounted for 46.2 percent of all trades made by offshore investors in South Korea, according to the data.
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