Foreigners were net buyers of South Korean stocks last month, data showed Sunday, an indication that concerns on Beijing's possible economic retaliation against Seoul over an anti-missile system did not scare off foreign investors.

Seoul and Washington announced last month that they have officially decided to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery, an advanced U.S. antimissile system, in South Korea to cope with the ever-growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. 


The decision sparked concerns among some South Koreans that China -- South Korea's largest trading partner -- could economically retaliate against South Korea.

China has repeatedly expressed opposition against the U.S. antimissile system out of concerns that the deployment could hurt its security interests.

Foreign investors bought a net 4.1 trillion won (US$3.6 billion) worth of South Korean stocks in July as the risk-on appetite among investors survived the concerns, the Financial Supervisory Service said.

By country, British investors bought a net 785 billion won worth of Korean stocks in July, followed by Germans with 770 billion won, Luxembourg with 747 billion won and Americans with 732 billion won.

In July, Chinese investors also bought a net 32 billion won worth of South Korean stocks, according to the data, in a sign that the decision to deploy the THAAD system did not spook Chinese investors.

France was a net seller of South Korean stocks worth 197 billion won. Canada offloaded a net 109 billion won worth of South Korean stocks. Qatar and Japan dumped a net 89 billion won and 85 billion won, respectively.

At the end of July, foreigners' accumulated holdings of South Korean stocks were 456.2 trillion won. American investors topped the list with 182.8 trillion won. The Chinese clinched the 12th spot with 8.8 trillion won worth of South Korean stocks.

Meanwhile, foreigners bought a net 600 billion won worth of local bonds in July. (Yonhap)