S. Korea's foreign reserves climb to 57.45 bil. dlrs

Asian Economic News, April 5, 1999

SEOUL, April 1 Kyodo South Korea's total foreign exchange holdings as of the end of March swelled to 57.45 billion dollars, up 1.99 billion dollars from a month before, the Bank of Korea said on Thursday. Usable foreign exchange reserves, which exclude foreign currency deposits at domestic banks' overseas branches, totaled 54.45 billion dollars, up 2.49 billion dollars, the central bank said.

The central bank attributed the increase mostly to South Korean financial institutions' repayment of emergency foreign currency loans to the central bank. The central bank also cited a steady inflow of foreign funds for corporate and financial restructuring, which increased the current account surplus. The reserves consist of convertible foreign currencies, gold, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) special drawing rights. South Korea's usable foreign reserves, which had plunged to 7.3 billion dollars at the end of November 1997, totaled 50.09 billion dollars at the end of January, topping 50 billion dollars for the first time ever. That was because the financial crisis forced South Korea to seek a nearly 58 billion dollar rescue package from the IMF in late 1997 in return for pledges to carry out comprehensive restructuring.