S. Korean financial firm’s overseas real estate investment falls in Q1

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) — South Korean financial firm’s overseas real estate investment fell in the first quarter due to delayed property market recovery in the United States and Europe, financial watchdog data showed Thursday.
Domestic financial companies had an outstanding balance of 57.0 trillion won (42.8 billion U.S. dollars) in overseas real estate investment at the end of March, down 600 billion won (450.7 million dollars) from three months earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.
It accounted for 0.8 percent of total assets possessed by the local financial sector.
The first-quarter fall was attributed to the delayed recovery in overseas real estate markets, especially in the United States and Europe, amid the prolongation of high interest rates.
Of the total overseas real estate investment, insurers held the largest share of 55.0 percent, followed by banks with 21.0 percent and brokerages with 13.8 percent.
By region, real estate investment in North America took up the largest share of 63.4 percent, trailed by Europe with 17.8 percent and Asia with 6.9 percent.
In 2024, 11.9 percent of the total investment was set to mature, while 77.4 percent was slated to mature by 2030. ■