Corporations' excess funds hit record high in Q2 on robust chip exports
Excess funds held by South Korean businesses hit an all-time high in the second quarter as strong semiconductor exports boosted corporate earnings, central bank data showed Wednesday. Net financial funds -- the value of financial assets minus financial liabilities -- held by non-financial corporations totaled 67.1 trillion won ($50.1 billion) at the end of June, sharply up from 20.8 trillion won…
In the second quarter, South Korean businesses amassed a record high in excess funds, driven by robust semiconductor exports that propelled corporate earnings, according to central bank data released on Wednesday. Net financial funds held by non-financial corporations reached a staggering 67.1 trillion won ($50.1 billion) by the end of June, a significant increase from 20.8 trillion won three months prior.
This represents the highest quarterly figure since the Bank of Korea began tracking this data in 2009. The surge in corporate excess funds contrasts with a decline in household net financial funds, which dropped to 60.7 trillion won in the second quarter from 79.2 trillion won in the first quarter. This drop in household funds can be attributed to lower incomes and an uptick in homeownership.
The country's households and nonprofit organizations' financial assets increased to 6,930.2 trillion won at the end of June, a rise of 513 trillion won from the previous quarter. However, their debts surged by 28.2 trillion won to 2,495.8 trillion won over the same period. The ratio of financial assets to liabilities for households stood at 2.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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