Foreign securities held by South Korea's financial institutions rose for the first time in three years as insurers and asset managers sought bonds denominated in foreign currency, central bank data showed Wednesday.

Outstanding overseas securities owned by local financial institutions, including banks, brokerages, insurers and asset management companies, rose 12.4 billion dollars in 2012 to 65.2 billion dollars at the end of last year, the first increase in three years, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Insurance firms and asset managers raised purchases of foreign bonds and Korean Paper, or foreign currency-denominated securities sold overseas by the South Korean government, financial institutions and companies.

A rise in global stocks boosted unrealized gains on foreign stock holdings, the bank said. Stocks in Hong Kong jumped 22.9 percent last year, with those for Japan, China, the European Union (EU) and Brazil advancing 22.9 percent, 15.1 percent, 13.8 percent and 7.4 percent respectively.

Holdings of overseas stocks increased by 4.5 billion dollars in 2012, and foreign bond holdings rose 5.9 billion dollars. Holdings of the Korean Paper advanced 2.1 billion dollars last year.