Seoul, May 30 (IANS): Foreign securities invested by South Korea's financial institutions grew in the first quarter due to rises in the share price of major investment destinations, the central bank said Wednesday.

Foreign currency-denominated securities held by domestic financial institutions reached an outstanding $62.18 billion as of the end of March, up $4.26 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The first-quarter increase came as the mark-to-market valuation of foreign stocks increased amid gains in share prices of major investment destinations. Stocks in China advanced 2.9 percent during the January-March period, with those for Brazil, India, Hong Kong and the US jumping 13.7 percent, 12.6 percent, 11.5 percent and 8.1 percent respectively, reported Xinhua.

Investment in overseas stocks expanded $2.38 billion on- quarter to $29.48 billion as of end-March. The growth was mainly attributed to an increase in the mark-to-market valuations of foreign stock-type mutual funds run by asset managers, the BOK said.