Seoul: Overseas businesses of South Korean securities companies saw a significant increase in their net income last year due to heightened trading activity, recent data showed.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the overseas operations posted a combined net income of US$272 million in the past year, nearly tripling from $106 million recorded the previous year. This income accounted for 7.8 percent of the brokerage houses’ total net profit in 2024.

By the end of 2024, 15 domestic securities companies were operating in 15 countries through a network of 70 subsidiaries and 10 branch offices. The majority of these, 58, were located in Asia, while 14 were based in the United States.

The combined assets of the overseas operations stood at $34.28 billion as of the end of 2024, marking a decrease of $3.7 billion or 9.7 percent from the previous year, as reported by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

The securities firms reported net profits in 10 countries, including the U.S. and Vietnam. However, they faced net losses in three countries, namely Britain and Thailand, according to the financial watchdog.