SEOUL, KOREA - The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy said on July 15 the first-half foreign direct investment recorded US$8.0 billion (based on reported amounts), up 12.5 percent from the same period in 2012.

 

In terms of actual invested amount, it was $4.41 billion, down 9.3 percent from a year ago. Still, the ministry said, this is quite a good performance comparing to the years between 2009 and 2011 when half-year figures hovered around the $2-billion level.

 

By country, the United States invested $2.52 billion, 100.4-percent higher than the same period last year. The EU's reported investment amount was $2.48 billion, up 77.3 percent from a year ago, indicating that free trade agreements with these regions seem to have encouraged direct investment. Of these, mergers and acquisitions through private equity funds took the bulk of the cases.

 

In contrast, direct investment from Japan plunged 48.6 percent to $1.36 billion, largely due to the weak yen against the Korean won. Investment from China, which faces a dire prospect of anemic growth, has also declined 16.2 percent to $150 million. By industrial sector, services accounted for 68 percent at $5.46 billion, more than twice that for manufacturing ($2.53 billion).