Citibank: The outflow of foreign capital from the South Korean stock market is likely to continue

Golden Finance July 1st | Citigroup pointed out that although the outlook for South Korea's current account surplus has improved, the trend of capital outflows from the South Korean stock market, dominated by foreign investors, may still continue. Citigroup economist Jin-Wook Kim wrote in a report that driven by portfolio rebalancing and profit-taking, outflows from foreign equity investors accelerated to $30.5 billion in June, compared to $27.9 billion the previous month. As of the end of June, the proportion of foreign investors in the South Korean stock market rose to 38.9% from 32.9% in December last year. Driven by strong growth in semiconductor exports, the bank raised its forecast for the current account surplus in 2026, expecting it to reach 16.4% of GDP, up from the previous forecast of 13.2%. It is expected that the growth rate of semiconductor exports in 2026 will reach about 170%, significantly higher than 22% a year earlier.