Foreign-owned stock slightly up from 13 months ago

Foreign-owned stock on Korea’s main bourse inched up in January from December 2011 on growing optimism for an economic recovery, the stock market operator said yesterday.

Overseas investors held 34.6 percent of total shares on the main bourse as of the end-January, up 1.7 percentage points from 13 months earlier, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said.

Market watchers said the rise came as the country’s sovereign credit ratings rose last year, while major countries, including the United States, injected more credit into the market through quantitative easing in order to prop up growth.

Meanwhile, net sales by foreign investors came to 1.8 trillion won ($1.72 billion) in January, the data showed, apparently due to foreign exchange market volatility.

Investors from abroad held 45.7 percent of shares in electronic firms and 42.7 percent in communications companies, the KRX added. Yonhap