Investor flows
KR Foreign Portfolio Flow
Net foreign investment into Korean stocks and bonds from the balance-of-payments financial account. Broader in coverage than daily net-buy figures, it shows on a monthly basis whether foreign capital is entering or leaving Korean markets as a whole.
Latest
8,173 mn USD
+34,498 mn USD
At a glance
KR Foreign Portfolio Flow: latest value and prior change
As of 2026-07-31, KR Foreign Portfolio Flow is 8,173 mn USD. It is 34,498 mn USD higher than -26,324 mn USD on 2026-06-30.
Across 403 available observations from 1993-01-31 to 2026-07-31, the latest value is at the tie-adjusted 97th percentile.
- Observed on
- Default comparison window
- 1993-01-31–2026-07-31
- Observations · observed cadence
- 403 · Monthly
- Data source
- Bank of Korea ECOS
A high or low percentile does not by itself make the indicator positive, negative, or a buy or sell signal.
Time-series chart
KR Foreign Portfolio Flow
1993-01-31–2026-07-31
Long-history series are stored as real provider observations. Index, FX, VIX, and ratio charts use historical backfill where providers expose it; Korean investor flow and margin-credit feeds expand as stable historical endpoints become available.
Recent observations and calculated changes
The ten latest chart observations. Change subtracts the previous observation; intervals vary with holidays, release schedules and missing data. A difference in rates or ratios is not an investment return.
| Observed | Value | Previous date | Difference (current − previous) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | 8,173 mn USD | 2026-06-30 | 34,498 mn USD |
| 2026-06-30 | -26,324 mn USD | 2026-05-31 | -1,673 mn USD |
| 2026-05-31 | -24,651 mn USD | 2026-04-30 | -28,163 mn USD |
| 2026-04-30 | 3,512 mn USD | 2026-03-31 | 37,555 mn USD |
| 2026-03-31 | -34,043 mn USD | 2026-02-28 | -22,107 mn USD |
| 2026-02-28 | -11,936 mn USD | 2026-01-31 | -16,623 mn USD |
| 2026-01-31 | 4,687 mn USD | 2025-12-31 | -990.5 mn USD |
| 2025-12-31 | 5,678 mn USD | 2025-11-30 | -131.9 mn USD |
| 2025-11-30 | 5,810 mn USD | 2025-10-31 | 1,035 mn USD |
| 2025-10-31 | 4,775 mn USD | 2025-09-30 | -4,307 mn USD |
Source: Bank of Korea ECOS
Interpretation guide
Foreign portfolio investment: tracking the big money's monthly current
Korea's foreign portfolio investment flow, drawn from the balance of payments financial account, records foreigners' monthly net investment in Korean stocks and bonds in hundreds of millions of dollars. Unlike the exchange's daily foreign net-buying figures, it covers bonds as well as equities on a balance-of-payments basis, making it the right series for the overall current of foreign capital.
Do not confuse it with daily net buying
The exchange's foreign net-buying number counts only on-exchange trades in listed shares, while this series covers bond investment too, on a balance-of-payments basis. The differing scope and methodology mean the two can point in opposite directions in a given month — and that gap itself is a clue about what bond money is doing.
- Negative equity net buying with a positive total inflow means money entered through bonds.
- Bond flows are heavy with central banks and sovereign funds, so they run smoother and longer than equity flows.
- For daily flow judgments, reach for KOSPI foreign net buying first — this series arrives with a monthly lag.
A feedback loop with the exchange rate
Foreign inflows are won-buying demand that pulls the exchange rate down, and expected won strength attracts further inflows. The loop runs in reverse too: once outflows and won weakness interlock, cause and effect become hard to separate.
- Expanding inflows alongside a falling won-dollar rate is the classic setup of a foreign-driven liquidity rally.
- Check whether a widening rate gap versus the US is eroding the incentive for bond inflows.
- Shifts in FX hedging costs are a hidden variable that can flip the direction of bond money.
Handling a turn to outflows
A month or two of net outflows can be one-off — dividend remittances or index rebalancing — but sustained, growing outflows deserve different treatment. Money leaving stocks and bonds simultaneously can mean the view on Korean assets as a whole has changed.
- Strip out the seasonal effect around April's dividend remittance season before judging outflows.
- Several months of simultaneous equity and bond outflows warrant raised vigilance alongside the exchange rate and FX reserves.
- Assess whether outflows can persist against the dollar-supply base of a current account surplus.