Seoul: South Korea's overseas financial assets reached the second-highest level in the first quarter, driven by increased stock investments and investment returns, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's external financial assets stood at $2.52 trillion as of end-March, up $4.2 billion from the end of December.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) marked the second-highest level ever, following an all-time high of $2.53 trillion recorded in the third quarter of 2024. Of external financial assets, residents' securities investment rose by $17.6 billion on-quarter to reach $1.01 trillion, surpassing the $1 trillion mark for the first time ever. Direct investment also increased $15.7 billion, reaching a record high of $778.4 billion.
BOK official Park Sung-gon highlighted during a press briefing that, "Though the valuation of domestic investors' overseas assets declined due to a correction in the U.S. stock market, actual investments in overseas equities and bonds have recently increased amid expectations of interest rate cuts and a growing preference for safe assets."
The country's net international investment position, however, fell by $18.1 billion from three months earlier to stand at $1.08 trillion as of end-March, as the external financial debt rose $22.2 billion from three months earlier to $1.43 trillion. Despite the decline, South Korea logged net overseas financial assets worth over 1 trillion won for the second consecutive quarter. The all-time high was set in the fourth quarter of 2024, when the country's net assets surpassed the $1 trillion mark for the first time, making South Korea the seventh country in the world to achieve the milestone, the data showed.