South Korea’s issuance of equity-linked securities soared to its highest level in the first half of this year as more investors opted to indirectly buy stocks in the low interest environment, data showed Tuesday.

The issuance of ELS products amounted to 47.34 trillion won ($27.61 billion) over the past six months, up 71.4 percent from a year ago, according to the Korea Securities Depository. The amount is a new half-year record and surpasses the total issuance in 2012 and 2013. Equity-linked securities are hybrid debt securities whose return is determined by the performance of underlying equity.

Local brokerage houses issued 60 percent of the derivative products, while private equity funds provided the rest of them, the KSD said.

ELS products that do not guarantee the principle accounted for 85.6 percent of total issuance as investors preferred instruments that promise higher yields.

Most of them were following benchmark indices as underlying assets, while those benchmark individual Korean stocks stood at a mere 1.2 percent, it said.

“Investors are taking higher risks by investing the equity-linked securities amid low interest rates,” Lee Joong-ho, a researcher at Yuanta Securities Korea, said. “The ELS market will further grow considering the ample liquidity in the market.” (Yonhap)