Seoul: Sales of derivative-linked securities in South Korea increased in the first half of the year from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday. The combined value of equity-linked securities (ELS) and derivative-linked securities (DLS) issued in the January-June period came to 34 trillion won (US$24.3 billion), up 6.5 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.
According to Yonhap News Agency, their outstanding value came to 87.2 trillion won at the end of June, up 5.7 trillion won from the end of last year, the data showed. ELS refers to hybrid debt securities whose returns are determined by the performance of underlying equities. ELS products track benchmark stock indexes, including the Korea Composite Stock Price Index 200.
Sales of ELS products came to 21.7 trillion won in the first half, up from 18.3 trillion won a year earlier, while those of DLS products rose to 12.3 trillion won from 9.3 trillion won over the cited period, the data showed. The value of outstanding ELS products had stood at 53.6 trillion won as of end-June, up from 50.7 trillion won a year ago. The value of outstanding DLS stood at 33.6 trillion won, up from 29.8 trillion won over the cited period.