Deposits and settlements for offshore securities by Koreans hit record high

Korean deposits for offshore securities surged to record-high of $100.6 billion last year after rising 39.3 percent from a year-ago period amid booming U.S. stocks, according to the Korea Securities Depository (KSD).

The U.S. was the primary destination for the deposits in waiting for securities investment, accounting for 68.6 percent. U.S. stocks took up 87 percent of offshore holdings by Korean nationals. The amount jumped to $67.8 billion last year from $37.34 billion in 2020.

Other markets were mostly unchanged with holdings in Hong Kong at $3.1 billion, Japan at $2.73 billion, China at $2.37 billion, and Vietnam at 460 million.

Tesla was the top choice with holdings at $15.46 billion, followed by Apple ($5.03 billion) and Nvidia ($3.12 billion).

Settlements in foreign-denominated securities rose 51.7 percent from a year ago also to a record high of $490 billion. Settlements for stock trade surged 100.9 percent to $398 billion. U.S. again scored highest, taking up 77.8 percent of securities settlements or 92.9 percent in stock settlements alone. Tesla recorded the largest volume of settlements with $34.1 billion, followed by Apple ($10.94 billion), and Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares ($9.3 billion)

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