Seoul, Oct 9 (IANS) British investors were the most active traders of South Korean stocks this year, data showed on Thursday.

According to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service, foreigners traded 1,247.7 trillion won ($889.01 billion) worth of South Korean stocks between January and August, reports Yonhap news agency.

By nationality, trading volume was the heaviest among investors from Britain, at 557.4 trillion won, accounting for 44.7 per cent of the total.

Investors from the Cayman Islands, a well-known tax haven, and Singapore followed, with their trading volume accounting for 14.1 per cent and 12.1 per cent of the total, respectively, during the cited period.

Traders from these three countries accounted for 70 per cent of all foreign stock transactions during the cited period, the data showed.

Investors from Asian countries, on the other hand, showed little to no activity in the local stock market.

Trade volume from Chinese investors accounted for 0.5 per cent, while that from Hong Kong and Japan accounted for 0.5 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.

Investors from the United States held the largest amount of local stocks among all foreigners.

The combined value of Korean stocks owned by American investors stood at 367.4 trillion won as of end-August, accounting for 40.6 percent of all Korean equities owned by offshore investors, according to the data.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, South Korean stocks climbed past the 3,500 mark for the first time, as investors welcomed news of business partnerships between OpenAI and top chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

The local currency also strengthened against the US dollar in the starting of the month.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 93.38 points, or 2.7 percent, to close at 3,549.21 on October 2, surpassing the previous record high of 3,486.19 set on Sept. 23, reports Yonhap news agency.

Trade volume was heavy at 394.92 million shares worth 18.57 trillion won (US$13.25 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 589 to 291.