According to Yonhap News,

(SEOUL=Yonhap News) South Korea's top 30 conglomerates spent 61.1 trillion won (US$52.4 billion) in investment for facilities and research activities in the first half of this year despite economic uncertainties at home and abroad, data showed Sunday.

The nation's 30 largest conglomerates by assets executed 45.1 percent of their 2015 investment plan in the first six months of this year, spending 46.5 trillion won in facilities and 14.6 trillion won in R&D, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said.

The FKI said the large enterprises smoothly proceeded with their investment plans although uncertainties from the U.S. and China as well as the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) weighed down on Asia's fourth-largest economy.

"Given that the budget execution rate ranged from 40-45 percent in the past, companies will overcome MERS, the China shock and the looming U.S. interest rate hike relatively well," Song Won-geun, a senior official at FKI, said.

For this year, the business groups devoted 102 trillion won to facility investment, while setting aside for 33.6 trillion won for R&D, it said.

ejkim@yna.co.kr

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