South Korea’s net overseas financial assets surpass $1 trillion for 1st time

Seoul: South Korea’s net overseas financial assets hit a record high to surpass $1 trillion for the first time ever last year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country’s net international investment position came to $1.1 trillion as of end-2024, up $292 billion from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the largest amount ever, and South Korea became the world’s seventh country to report net overseas financial assets worth over $1 trillion, reports Yonhap news agency.

In detail, the country’s external financial assets came to a record high of $2.49 trillion as of end-December, up $166.3 billion from a year earlier, on the back of increased stock investments and investment returns.

The external financial debt, however, fell by $125.7 billion to come to $1.39 trillion, the data showed.

Meanwhile, South Korean stocks traded lower on Thursday morning as investors were worried about U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies despite better-than-expected Nvidia earnings.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had lost 23.14 point, or 0.88 per cent, to 2,617.95 as of 11:20 a.m.

Overnight, Wall Street finished mixed ahead of the Nvidia results, which were released after the market closed.

The artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant reported $22 billion in net income and $39.3 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter that ended in late January on rising demand for its new top-of-the-line Blackwell processors, beating market expectations.

Meanwhile Trump said his administration will soon announce a 25 percent tariff on imports from Europe, but the planned tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods would be delayed for one month.

In Seoul, market heavyweights went south across the board.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.35 per cent and its chipmaking rival SK hynix dropped 1.23 per cent. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor sank 2.44 percent, and steel giant POSCO Holdings retreated 0.53 per cent.

–IANS