Capital transfers by overseas Koreans surge

SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- Capital transfers by overseas Koreans to their home
country nearly quadrupled in the first half of this year from a year earlier as
they sought to gain profits from a weak currency and buy real estate, data by the
central bank showed Monday.
According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), inbound money by overseas Koreans stood at
US$1.61 billion in the January-June period, compared with $459.6 million the same
period last year.
A weaker South Korean currency and falling real estate prices prodded overseas
Koreans to increase investment in the local property market in anticipation of
pocketing profits when the currency and property prices regain their footings
later, the central bank said.
The local currency slumped nearly 27 percent on-year to the U.S. dollar in the
January-June period, and housing prices have fallen due to an economic slump.
In the meantime, capital outflow by local residents plunged 26.6 percent on-year
to $601 million during the first six months of 2009, taking the balance of
capital transfer to a surplus of $1.01 billion. The capital transfer account
logged a deficit of $359.6 million the same period last year.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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