South Korean institutions’ investment in foreign securities increased in the first quarter of the year due to a rise in the value of overseas stocks, bonds and increased new investments, central bank data showed Friday.

The outstanding value of foreign securities held by local institutional investors stood at US$396.77 billion as of end-March, up $9.02 billion from three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The on-quarter increase is attributed to an increase in the value of foreign stocks and bonds held by them and increased investments.

Foreign securities include stocks, bonds and “Korean paper,” which refers to foreign currency-denominated securities issued by the South Korean government, banks and companies in overseas markets.

Local institutions’ investment in foreign stocks rose $8.68 billion on-quarter in the first quarter, while the value of their foreign bond holdings rose $2.8 billion, the data showed.

Source: Yonhap News Agency