Foreign-owned Market Cap
The market capitalization of stocks owned by foreigners in the Korean stock market broke through 600 trillion won (US$540 billion) for the first time in history.
According to KOSCOM, the market cap of foreign-owned KOSPI and KOSDAQ stocks stood at 602.6 trillion won (US$542 billion) on July 11, exceeding the 600 trillion won mark for the first time ever.
The proportion of the market capitalization of foreign-owned stocks (1.7703 quadrillion won or US$1.59 trillion) in total market capitalization also rose to 34.04 percent, the highest level in 10 years. The proportion reached the 34% level for the first time since 34.08% on June 20, 2007.
The proportion of the market capitalization of foreign-owned stocks has been on a roller coaster. The percentage dropped to 25% in May 2009 and spiked to 33% in July 2014, and then slid to 26% in January 2016. Recently, foreigners have been taking the initiative in stock market rallies such as a record-high KOSPI, buying Korean stocks.
This year, institutional investors and individuals sold 11.3 trillion won (US$10.1 billion) and 1.5 trillion won (US$1.35 billion) worth of stocks, respectively, while foreigners bought 10.9 trillion won (US$9.8 billion).