Stock ownership by foreign investors on South Korea’s bourse rose sharply this month as they scooped up market heavyweights such as tech and auto shares, data showed Thursday.

Overseas investors held a combined 33.24 percent of local shares worth 441.8 trillion won ($431 billion) as of Tuesday, this year’s high, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange.

Foreign investors owned 35.65 percent of the total shares traded on the main bourse, worth 427.99 trillion won, the highest portion of the year. Tuesday’s figure compares with 35.14 percent at the end of last month.

They held 10.76 percent of the shares on the secondary, tech-laden KOSDAQ as of Tuesday, also up from 10.57 percent at the end last month, the data showed. Offshore investors extended their buying streak to the 16th consecutive day through Tuesday, purchasing a net 3 trillion won worth of local shares.

In particular, foreign investors rushed to buy Samsung Electronics Co., the country’s top market cap, on hopes that the tech giant, the flagship of top conglomerate Samsung Group, would take shareholder-friendly measures following the hospitalization of de facto chief Lee Kun-hee. (Yonhap)