S. Korean firms reduce foreign property investment in Q1 ’24

South Korean financial firms decreased their overseas real estate investments in the first quarter of 2024, primarily due to the ongoing recovery delays in the US and European property markets.

The Financial Supervisory Service reported on Thursday that the outstanding balance of these investments declined by 600 billion won ($450.7 million) to 57.0 trillion won ($42.8 billion) at the end of March.

This represents 0.8 per cent of the total assets held by the local financial sector. Insurers accounted for the largest portion of these investments at 55.0 per cent, followed by banks at 21.0 per cent and brokerages at 13.8 per cent.

Geographically, North America remains the primary destination for South Korean financial firms’ real estate investments, accounting for 63.4 per cent of the total. Europe and Asia follow with 17.8 per cent and 6.9 per cent, respectively.

Attribution: Xinhua

Subediting: M. S. Salama