Foreign direct investment in S. Korea logs 2nd highest for Q1

Alsharq Tribune-Otaify 

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea logged the second-highest figure for the first quarter, government data showed Friday.

The reported FDI inched up 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 6.41 billion U.S. dollars in the January-March quarter, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

It marked the second-highest performance ever recorded for the first quarter, driven by foreign investors' confidence in the Asian country's investment environment that offset geopolitical risks in the Middle East, the ministry said.

FDI in the domestic manufacturing industry tumbled 47.6 percent to 1.24 billion dollars in the first quarter on a yearly basis.

Foreign investment in the chemical engineering industry climbed in single digits, but investment in the electric and electronic, and the machinery, equipment and medical precision device sectors declined in double figures.

FDI in the local service industry jumped 21.5 percent to 4.33 billion dollars in the cited quarter.

Investment in the information and communications sector almost tripled, while those in the finance and insurance and the distribution sectors posted a double-digit expansion.

Direct investment from the United States grew 20.9 percent to 1 billion dollars, but investment from the European Union retreated 4.1 percent to 1.43 billion dollars.

Greenfield investment, which involves factory construction and employment, diminished 19.8 percent to 3.74 billion dollars, but merger and acquisition investment surged 53.4 percent to 2.67 billion dollars.