Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea jumped 17 percent on-year to
US$2.34 billion in the first quarter of this year thanks to an inflow of funds
from advanced industrialized economies, the government said Thursday.
The total is the largest since the first quarter of 2008, which reflects
expectations that Asia's fourth-largest economy will grow steadily despite
lingering global economic uncertainties, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy
said.
Seoul expects its economic growth to reach 3.7 percent this year
from a gain of 3.6 percent in 2011, with the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) forecasting an increase of 3.8 percent. The
OECD said global economic growth will reach 3.2 percent in 2012, down from 3.8
percent reached last year.
FDI from advanced industrialized economies
such as Japan and the European Union (EU) surged 52.2 percent on-year,
offsetting the 43.5 percent plunge in investments from developing
countries.
The report showed inflow of investment from Japan soaring
150 percent to $919 million in the three-month period, with numbers for the EU
rising 34.7 percent to $584 million.
Investments from China were up
47.2 percent on year to $96 million, while FDI from the United States reached
$427 million, down 8.7 from the previous year.
"Investments from Japan
reached an all-time high in the January-March period with solid gains also being
tallied for the EU that is struggling with fiscal woes," the ministry said. The
gains from Europe were buoyed by the free trade agreement (FTA) that went into
effect last July.
According to the ministry, FDI in the manufacturing
sector jumped 88 percent on-year while that for the service industry contracted
30.4 percent.
The ministry said this year's inflow of foreign
investment should continue to expand from a year earlier, with the FTA with the
United States likely to exert positive influence down the road.
The
government said in January that it is aiming to attract around $15 billion in
FDI this year, up from $13.67 billion last year.
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