S.Korean Financial Groups Enjoy Windfall From Foreign Buying Spree

Shinhan and Hana financial groups enjoyed better-than-expected earnings due to buying sprees by foreign investors last Wednesday.

Both South Korean financial groups each sold 30 billion won stocks to international investors.

Foreign investors also net purchased over 18.1 billion won worth of KB Financial shares.

Shares of Shinhan Financial Group jumped by over 10 percent to 30,550 won Wednesday from 27,150 won last Friday, while that for Hana's increased by nearly 20 percent to end at 27,600 won.

KB Financial Group's stock price jumped by 11.7 percent on Wednesday, closing at 34,750 won, which is a 1.76 percent increase from Friday.

Shinhan Financial Group posted the largest quarterly profit of 932 billion won, up 1.5 percent from the same period last year, to keep its leading status.

Meanwhile, due to a rise in income from non-banking and overseas, Hana Financial Group registered a 657 billion won net profit of in the first quarter, a 20.3 percent increase from the same period last year.

KB had a net profit of 729 billion won during the first quarter, which is a 13.7 percent dip from the same period last year. However, market analysts say the result was expected amid the virus-stricken market uncertainty.

Kim Ji-young, an analyst at Kyobo Securities, attributed the sound performances the economy's solid fundamentals and increase in loan demand, which countered a decrease of net interest margin (NIM) caused by a drop in key interest rates.

The financial groups are expected to continue exhibiting an upward trend in their stock prices due to the country's financial support policies and the improving COVID-19 situation.