부동산 경기 바닥 친듯..........^^ 10월달 미국동포 1조 7천억 국매송금^^

[이원규 117-202]

'Buy Korea'

Overseas Koreans Rush to Invest in Homeland

Every cloud has a silver lining. This adage can be applied to the global financial crisis. International investors have been on a selling spree to cash out of Korean markets to put their money in safer financial vehicles. Foreigners briefly became net buyers of Korean stocks last week, but it is too early to say that they have changed their selling position over the long run.

The good news is that Koreans living abroad are rushing to invest in properties and financial assets in their homeland. They want to make windfall profits once the worldwide credit turmoil ends and the economy normalizes. According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), overseas Korean residents remitted $1.28 billion here in October, a two-fold increase from the previous month's $610 million and the largest since 1980 when tallying began.

This inflow of money from overseas Koreans reminds us of the 1997-98 Asian financial turmoil, when the nation went cap in hand to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout program. During that unprecedented crisis, Koreans residing abroad sent lots of money back to the country. They remitted $860 million to Korea in December 1997, sharply up from the $270 million a month earlier.

Such a huge remittance brought a ray of hope to South Koreans struggling to overcome the crisis. Since then, overseas Koreans have continued to send their money to Korea in the range of $300-500 million per month. Of course, their aim is to purchase properties, especially apartments, in affluent residential areas in southern Seoul in anticipation of higher returns. Many of them believe that now is the right time to buy properties in Korea because prices have fallen by 30-40 percent in the past year.

Market analysts have said that apartments and other real estate have emerged as attractive targets of investment for overseas Koreans, especially those living in the United States.

 If they buy properties now, they can make considerable profits when the economy recovers in two or three years. Besides, they can also gain from the weak Korean won, which is likely to regain its strength against the U.S. dollar when the global financial firestorm subsides.

That is, investors can kill two birds with one stone ― making capital gains from their investment and enjoying foreign exchange gains at the same time.

The weakening won also enables dollar holders to buy Korean assets at fire sale prices. However, investment is not without risk during this time of crisis reminiscent of the Great Depression. There are growing fears about deflation and recession.

So, timing is crucial while bargain hunting for assets, not only in Korea but also around the world. Many foreign investors made huge profits from taking over bad debts, buildings and other assets in Korea after the Asian turmoil, creating a ``Buy Korea'' fever. Let's see if the latest crisis can turn into an opportunity for overseas Koreans and international investors.

[이원규 117-202]

미국에 살고있는 한인 교포들이 올 10월달에 12억 8000만 달러, 한화로 환산시(1$=1,350원) 약 1조 7천억원을 국내로 송금했다는군요... 주로 강남에 있는 아파트 등을 사들였다고 하구요. 이미 막대한 금액이 강남 부동산을 사는데 쓰였다는 기사가 지금에야 나오는 것은, 언론의 특성상 기사를 쓰는데 있어 명확한 물증이 있어야 하는만큼, 실제 벌어지는 일에 비해 후행하게 되는 특징이 반영된것이죠. 뜨긴 떴나봅니다...^^