By BridgeNews
Tokyo--Feb. 9--Japan had net fund inflows worth 2.755 trillion yen in January, compared with a 1.964-trillion-yen inflow in December, the Ministry of Finance said Friday. The January net buying is due to Japan investors' selling of foreign securities and foreign investors' net buying of Japan securities.
Such investors' moves are in line with the correction of the yen's depreciation since the middle of January.
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Net sales of foreign bonds stood at 153.3 billion yen on a contract basis, while net sales of foreign stocks stood at 146.5 billion yen in January, the MOF said.
Net buying of Japan bonds and stocks by foreign investors totaled 1.485 trillion yen and 969.6 billion yen respectively in January.
The ministry had until March 1998 released data only on a settlement basis, but has released the data on a contract basis from April 1998 because markets are paying close attention to the impact of Japan's "Big Bang" deregulation program on the flow of Japanese funds.
Securities investment data on a settlement basis for December are scheduled to be released at 0850 JT Wednesday, and the February data on a contract basis will be released in early March.

Details of January data on Japanese investors' overseas securities investment and foreign investors' securities investment in Japan on a contract basis:

JAPAN OVERSEAS BOND INVESTMENT (in billions of yen)

Net Purchases -153.3
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JAPAN OVERSEAS STOCK INVESTMENT (in billions of yen)

Net Purchases -146.5
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FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN JAPANESE BONDS (in billions of yen)

Net Purchases 1485.3
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FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN JAPANESE STOCKS (in billions of yen)

Net Purchases 969.6

Details of Japan investors' net trading of foreign securities (in billions of yen):

Foreign stocks Foreign bonds
Life insurers -18.0 -72.0
Banks -0.1 560.0
Trust banks -142.4 -116.4
Investment trusts 24.3 -110.8
Others -10.4 -413.9
End