Overseas securities investment dips 52.5 pct in 2008

SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's investment in overseas securities fell
for the first time in 2008 as the global financial turmoil sparked stock
sell-offs, the central bank said Thursday.
South Koreans' investment in overseas stocks and bonds reached US$75.4 billion as
of the end of 2008, down 52.5 percent from the previous year, according to the
Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure marks the first decline since 2002 when the
central bank began to compile related data.
Total overseas investment by South Korea also posted the first fall since 2002,
it added, sinking 13.2 percent on-year to $290.3 billion.
"A fall in overseas investment comes mainly because tumbles in overseas share
prices increased valuation losses of stock investment," the BOK said in a
statement.
Last year, the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the global economic
recession dealt a heavy blow to global equity markets. The Dow Jones industrial
average declined 33.8 percent last year alone and China's Shanghai Composite
Index plunged 65.4 percent.
Meanwhile, foreign investments in South Korea amounted to an outstanding $601.9
billion as of the end of last year, down 27.2 percent from the previous year, the
BOK said.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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