SEOUL-- South Korean institutions' investment in foreign securities grew 1.4 percent in the third quarter as they increased their holdings of foreign stocks and bonds, central bank data showed Monday.

The combined value of foreign securities held by institutional investors had come to US$385.6 billion as of end-September, up $5.4 billion from three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The on-quarter increase, however, slowed from an $18.4 billion gain reported for the second quarter.

Foreign securities include stocks, bonds and "Korean paper," which refers to foreign currency-denominated securities issued by the South Korean government, banks and companies in overseas markets.

Their investment in foreign stocks and bonds grew $5.1 billion and $820 million, respectively, from three months earlier to $168.1 billion and $180.6 billion, the data showed.

Investment in Korean paper, however, shrank $450 million to $36.9 billion over the same period.

Source: Yonhap News Agency