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Foreigners selling of S Korean stocks tops in Asia

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-14 15:00

SEOUL - The South Korean stock market faced the greatest exodus of foreign capital in Asia in the first half of 2008 as foreign investors' worries over a global credit crunch and cost-push inflation deepens, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said Monday.

Foreigners sold a net US$19.3 billion worth of shares in the South Korean market during the January-June period, followed by that in the Indian and Taiwan markets with net US$6.5 billion and US$3.6 billion, respectively, the KRX said

"In the first quarter, foreign investors reduced their exposure to Asian markets due to a credit squeeze. They continued to go on a selling spree on inflation risks in the second quarter," the KRX said in a statement.

South Korea's key stock index once had reached over 2,000-point level for the first time last year but fell 11.7 percent in the first half, the KRX added. The index currently remains below the 1,600-point level.