Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced the foreign investments in bond through September 2009 on October 5.

Trends in Bonds Trading
Foreign investors sustained their net purchases of bonds during the first nine months of the year, focusing KRW26.5 trillion on the Monetary Stabilization Bond (MSB) out of the KRW34.0 trillion made during the period, up KRW6.2 trillion from the same time last year.
There was net foreign capital inflow of KRW11.5 trillion in bonds through the end of September taking into account the KRW22.5 trillion in redemptions of foreign investorheld bonds that came due during the first nine months.
Foreign capital inflows into both MSB and Treasury Bonds increased sharply subsequent to May after transactions first showed patterns of MSB-buying and Treasury Bond-selling in the beginning of the year. Noteworthy was net capital inflows of KRW4.7 trillion from net purchases of KRW9.5 trillion in June when a concentration of maturing debt fanned concerns over possible outflows of foreign investment capital in bonds.
Investors from Asia accounted for KRW21.7 trillion or 63.8% of total net purchases, led by Thailand with KRW11.4 trillion. Meanwhile, the net selling of KRW1.3 trillion and KRW0.7 trillion by France and Ireland, the leading group of foreign investors from Europe, contracted the region’s investment in the Korea bond market.
Bond Holdings
As of end-September, foreign investors held KRW48.9 trillion in listed bonds, up KRW11.4 trillion from end-2008. Although a total of KRW22.5 trillion was redeemed at maturity in the first nine months, foreign investor holdings of listed bonds were the highest on record since August 2008 following their sustained net purchases.
Sustained net purchases by investors from Thailand raised the percentage of Korean bonds held by Asian investors to KRW22.6 trillion, up KRW9.3 trillion from the end of last year, the highest among foreign investor holdings at 46.2%. Bonds held by European investors, meanwhile, decreased by KRW0.9 trillion from end-2008 to KRW17.4 trillion following a drop in bond purchases and redemptions at maturity.