Foreigners remain net buyers of Seoul shares for 7 straight months through May

Foreigners remained as net buyers of South Korean stocks for seven straight months through May, data showed Sunday, led by investors from the United States and Britain. According to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service, foreign investors scooped up a net 1.5 trillion won (US$1.08 billion) worth of shares on the benchmark KOSPI and tech-heavy KOSDAQ markets in May. The main bourse accounted for 1.3 trillion won, while the secondary market took up 161 billion won, the data showed. Foreigners have remained as net buyers in the South Korean financial markets since November last year. By nation, U.S. investors bought 2.4 trillion won worth of Seoul shares, followed by Britain with 1.4 trillion won. Investors from Singapore, on the other hand, offloaded a net 1.3 trillion won. As of the end of May, foreigners held 791.3 trillion won worth of listed shares in South Korea, accounting for 29.1 percent of the total market cap. Source: Yonhap News Agency