Foreign investors have dumped a considerable portion of their South Korean bonds this year.

According to industry sources, foreign holdings of bonds issued by local listed firms were valued at a total of 89 trillion won, or 76-point-two billion U.S. dollars, as of Tuesday. The amount is down by 12 trillion won from the end of last year.

It is the first time since early 2013 that their value fell below 90 trillion won.

Since first surpassing 90 trillion won on December 26th, 2012, foreign holdings of domestic bonds peaked at 106 trillion won in June last year. 

They began to fall in the latter half of last year as U.S.-based fund managing firm, Franklin Templeton Investment, started to dump South Korean bonds and other foreign investors followed suit.

Foreign investors were known to be concerned about a foreign-exchange loss as a result of a potential strengthening of the dollar amid a looming interest rate hike by the U.S. Fed.

Local experts say the exodus of foreign funds will be limited as the expectation of a rate hike in the U.S. has already been factored into the market.