The return to selling
Foreign investors returned to being net sellers of Korean shares in September, after ending seven consecutive months of selling in August. According to data released Friday by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and reported by The Korea Herald, last month offshore investors sold local shares for a net value of 19.11 trillion won, equivalent to 14.25 billion dollars. In August, the balance had been positive at 344 billion won.
The September figure therefore marks a reversal of direction compared with the previous month, with a magnitude that the source material does not allow to be compared with the past beyond the reference to the seven months of selling interrupted in August. The source links the trend to prolonged geopolitical risks and concerns about the profitability of artificial intelligence activities, without quantifying the weight of each factor.
Who sold and how much foreign capital weighs
The breakdown by country indicates that investors from the United Kingdom led the selling in September, with net sales of 6.9 trillion won, followed by those from the United States with 3.9 trillion won. These are the top two positions by volume of net sales according to FSS data.
After the September selling, according to the source, foreign investors held Korean shares worth 2,296 trillion won, corresponding to 34.8 percent of total market capitalization. The figure provides a measure of the weight of foreign capital in the Korean stock market, but the material does not specify how this share moved compared with August or which sectors were most affected by the selling.
Bonds buck the trend
In the local bond market, foreign flows remained positive: again in September, offshore investors bought Korean bonds for a net value of 127 billion won. At the end of September, their holdings of Korean debt securities amounted to 322.9 trillion won, equal to 11.2 percent of bonds listed in the country, according to the FSS.
The comparison between the two markets therefore shows a divergence: while the equity market records significant net selling, the bond segment remains in positive territory, albeit with a much smaller net purchase balance.
What remains to be verified
The material does not clarify which specific securities or sectors were the subject of the selling, nor whether the September figure is the highest or lowest of a reference period. The values of foreign capital held in shares in previous months are not indicated, an element necessary to assess the impact of the selling on the 34.8 percent share. The source also does not report statements by authorities or analysts explaining the scale of the selling beyond the two general factors cited, geopolitical risks and artificial intelligence profitability. All figures are attributed to the Financial Supervisory Service via The Korea Herald.
