FDI surges more than 80 percent in Q3 from last year

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Korea nearly doubled from a year earlier in the July-September period on a large increase in the inflow of funds from both advanced and developing economies, the government said yesterday.

The total amount of new FDI pledged in the third quarter came to $4.09 billion, up 84.3 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The figure is the largest for a third quarter in 10 years.

“The recent increase in foreign investment is due to the country’s increased attractiveness resulting from its new free trade agreement with the United States, along with a large inflow of Chinese funds,” the Knowledge Economy Ministry said in a press release.

Fresh FDI pledges from the U.S., with which Korea enacted a bilateral FTA in March, surged 230.3 percent on-year to $614 million during the three months ended Sunday. New FDI promised by Chinese-speaking countries, including Taiwan and Singapore, also jumped 239.1 percent over the cited period to $1.52 billion. New pledges from China alone exploded 909.2 percent to reach $252 million.

FDI from the European Union slipped 15 percent on-year to $735 million.

Yonhap