Foreign investors hold more than half of electric and electronics shares listed on South Korea's main stock market, data showed Monday.

Foreign ownership of those stocks traded on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index market came to 51.2 percent of their total market capitalization as of Wednesday, the highest among all industrial sectors, according to the data from the Korea Exchange.

The communication sector came next with 44.8 percent, followed by the steel and metal industry with 37 percent. In contrast, comparable figures were 5 percent for the paper and lumber sector, 8.3 percent for the precision medical equipment industry and 8.4 percent for the nonferrous sector.
 

As of the same day, foreign ownership of all shares traded on the main bourse was worth 560 trillion won ($495 billion), accounting for 37.1 percent of the total market capitalization. Offshore investors owned 27 trillion won worth of shares traded on the minor KOSDAQ market.

Foreign ownership of both KOSPI and KOSDAQ shares took up 33.9 percent of the combined value of the two stock markets.

The figure has recently declined slightly amid a period of market correction after peaking at 622 trillion won on July 21 this year, according to the data. (Yonhap)