S. Korea's financial stability improves with foreign exchange reserve hitting landmark $400 bil.
- 6 years ago
There have been concerns that Korea's economic growth has been slowing down in recent months..... with a sudden drop in exports last month.
But some good news for the Korean economy is that.... its foreign exchange reserves hit a landmark figure in June.
Oh Soo-young has the details.
South Korea's foreign exchange reserves topped 400 billion dollars for the first time in June,... bolstering the country's financial stability.
The Bank of Korea said Wednesday the country's reserves grew one-point-three billion dollars from the previous month,... to 400-point-three billion dollars.
The record-breaking figure comes more than seven years after the country's foreign reserves surpassed the 300 billion dollar threshold in 2011. Korea had reserves of just four billion dollars back in 1997 during the Asian Financial Crisis.
A bank official said the recent surge was largely due to a steady current account surplus,... and also cited constant gains in assets held in foreign currencies.
Securities holdings alone reached 367 billion dollars -- up by one-point-five-six billion dollars on-month.
Amid concerns of a downturn in exports, consumption and investment,... experts say the country's burgeoning foreign reserves are an encouraging sign of financial resilience,... as they translate to a growing ability to service foreign debt.
South Korea's short-term external debt in 1997 was roughly three times its foreign exchange reserves.
The ratio came to 75 percent during the global financial crisis,... and fell to just 30-point-four percent in March this year.
At the end of May, South Korea came in ninth place in the global ranking of foreign reserves,... which was topped by China, Japan and Switzerland.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.
But some good news for the Korean economy is that.... its foreign exchange reserves hit a landmark figure in June.
Oh Soo-young has the details.
South Korea's foreign exchange reserves topped 400 billion dollars for the first time in June,... bolstering the country's financial stability.
The Bank of Korea said Wednesday the country's reserves grew one-point-three billion dollars from the previous month,... to 400-point-three billion dollars.
The record-breaking figure comes more than seven years after the country's foreign reserves surpassed the 300 billion dollar threshold in 2011. Korea had reserves of just four billion dollars back in 1997 during the Asian Financial Crisis.
A bank official said the recent surge was largely due to a steady current account surplus,... and also cited constant gains in assets held in foreign currencies.
Securities holdings alone reached 367 billion dollars -- up by one-point-five-six billion dollars on-month.
Amid concerns of a downturn in exports, consumption and investment,... experts say the country's burgeoning foreign reserves are an encouraging sign of financial resilience,... as they translate to a growing ability to service foreign debt.
South Korea's short-term external debt in 1997 was roughly three times its foreign exchange reserves.
The ratio came to 75 percent during the global financial crisis,... and fell to just 30-point-four percent in March this year.
At the end of May, South Korea came in ninth place in the global ranking of foreign reserves,... which was topped by China, Japan and Switzerland.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.