– The Republic of Korea’s overseas financial assets grew sharply in 2023 thanks largely to a jump in investment in US stocks, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing central bank data on Tuesday.

The nation’s external financial assets came to US$1.911 trillion at the end of December last year, up $124.4 billion from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The BOK attributed the on-year surge mainly to increased investment in the United States and European Union countries amid stock rallies.

Financial assets in the US jumped $113.8 billion to a record high of $804.6 billion last year, accounting for 42.1 percent of the total, also the highest, as retail investors scrambled to US equities.

Korean entities’ financial assets in the EU climbed $10.3 billion to $252.8 billion, and their financial assets in China fell $9.1 billion to $145.2 billion.

The tally excluded Korea’s foreign reserves, which stood at $420 billion as of end-December, the BOK said. Foreign reserves consist
of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.

The data also showed that the nation’s external financial liabilities increased $111.6 billion to $1.521 trillion as of end-December.

Source: Emirates News Agency