The value of foreign securities held by South Korean institutions soared to the highest level in more than seven years as major local asset managers and insurers beefed up their buying of foreign assets and overseas stock markets continued to rise, data showed Wednesday.

The outstanding value of foreign securities held by local institutional investors reached US$105.7 billion as of the end of March, the highest level since the $116.5 billion in the second quarter of 2007, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea.

The end-March figure also represents a $7.8 billion rise from three months earlier, the data showed.

Foreign securities refer to overseas stocks, bonds and Korean papers, or foreign currency-denominated securities issued by the South Korean government, banks or companies in overseas markets.

Foreign securities investments held by local institutions had hovered over the $90 billion threshold before the global financial crisis in late 2007 but suffered a setback following the unprecedented financial jolt. They recovered to the $90 billion level for the first time in six years in the second quarter of last year.

The on-quarter gain also marks the third-biggest increase since the global financial crisis, following a $10 billion rise in the second quarter of 2014 and a $9.9 billion rise in the second quarter of 2009.

Asset managers saw their holdings rise $2.6 billion to $46.8 billion, while those by insurers increased by $3.7 billion to $45.4 billion, according to the data. (Yonhap)