Korea’s net overseas financial assets exceed FX reserves

Korea’s net overseas financial assets surpassed its foreign exchange reserves at the end of last year for the first time, according to central bank data Friday.

Net financial assets invested overseas by Koreans stood at $413 billion at the end of last year, compared with $403 billion in the nation’s total value of foreign currency holdings, the data compiled by the Bank of Korea (BOK) showed.

A rise in net foreign financial assets means that the civilian sector’s capability of repaying abroad has improved, a BOK official said.
SK Hynix took over the memory chip business of Japan’s Toshiba last year and Samsung Electronics’ 2017 acquisition of Harman International was partly counted last year.

Foreign investors’ investments in Korea, including stocks and bonds, dropped $105.7 billion to $668.2 billion last year as the benchmark Kospi tumbled 19.7 percent.

Yonhap