SKorea reserves hit US$100b

SKorea reserves hit US$100b

SEOUL (AFP): South Korea's foreign exchange reserves have broken the US$100-billion mark for the first time, the central bank reported Monday.

The Bank of Korea (BoK) said there was $100.39 billion in reserve as of Saturday, up $1.014 billion from the end of August figure.

BoK governor Chon Chol-Hwan said the huge fund "will contribute to the stability of the domestic financial market."

"As a nation's foreign exchange reserves lift its credit in the global market, the BoK plans to raise the holdings as much as possible for a while," Chon added.

The reserves include $87.12 billion in securities, $12.57 billion in deposits and $68 million in gold, said the BoK.

According to the central bank, South Korea ranked fifth in Asia in terms of foreign exchange holdings after Japan with $372.2 billion, China ($180.8 billion), Hong Kong ($113.7 billion) and Taiwan ($113.1 billion).