Invest KOREA

According to Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea, 

Foreign investors pledged record $15.05 billion in direct investment in South Korea in the first nine months this year, up 13.4 percent on year, said the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) Tuesday.

The third quarter foreign direct investment (FDI) registered at $4.49 billion, up 2.1 percent on year, was also a record-high.

The capital investment suggests foreign confidence in the economy regardless of escalating North Korea nuclear threat and other external uncertainties, said a ministry official.

But actual foreign investment made in Korea totaled $6.68 billion as of September this year, down 40.2 percent from the same period last year.

By country, the European Union pledged $5.32 billion, up a whopping 194.8 percent on year, accounting for 35.3 percent of the total FDI commitments. Capital inflow from China more than tripled to $1.66 billion. Last year apart from the standalone investment of $980 billion from Anbang Insurance to buy out Tongyang Life Insurance, capital investment from China up to September totaled $550 million.

The service sector drew $10.23 million, up 14.9 percent on year and the manufacturing sector $4.32 billion, up 46.2 percent.

By type, green field investment - a form of FDI where a parent company builds its operations in a foreign country from scratch - has come to $10.82 billion, up 26.3 percent on year, while mergers and acquisitions dropped 10.2 percent to $4.23 billion in the same period.

By Seo Dong-cheol

Copyrights Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea. All Rights Reserved.

Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (Oct. 4, 2016)