Jan Portfolio Flows Show Yen Assets Still In Demand
Friday, March 10, 2000
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Funds poured into Japanese assets in January for the third straight month as Japanese investors pulled out of U.S. and European investments and overseas investors piled into Japanese markets, according to portfolio flow data released Friday by Japan's Finance Ministry.
Combined, a net 1.783 trillion yen of portfolio cash entered Japan in January, up from the 858.8 billion-yen net inflow in December.
Japanese investors retreated from rising interest rates and volatile stock markets in the U.S. and Europe, selling a net 1.184 trillion yen of overseas stocks and bonds in January, the ministry said.
It was the first time since last March that Japanese investors were net sellers of overseas assets. Japanese investors sold a net 955.2 billion yen of overseas bonds and a net 228.5 billion yen of overseas stocks.
The ministry said major Japanese banks and trust banks were the biggest bond sellers and that trust banks and investment trusts pared back their equities investments sharpest.
Adding to the repatriation of funds was the tide of overseas investor cash entering Japan. In contrast with past months, however, overseas investors overwhelmingly chose yen-denominated bonds over stocks.
Overseas investors bought a net 599.7 billion yen of Japanese assets, down from 948.2 billion yen in December. Of that, a net 546.9 billion yen went into the JGB market, up from the 379.4 billion-yen net inflow in December. |
