South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (C) poses for a photo with Henrik Andersen (R), chief executive officer of Danish wind turbine producer Vestas Wind Systems, and South Korean Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang at a hotel in Davos, Switzerland, in this file photo taken Jan. 18, 2023, during a ceremony to mark Vestas’ decision to invest US$300 million in South Korea and move its Asia-Pacific headquarters to the country. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges to South Korea rose 3.4 percent on-year in the first quarter of 2023 to reach the highest first-quarter figure ever, data showed Thursday.
The country received US$5.63 billion of FDI commitments in the January-March period, compared with $5.45 billion logged a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
But the number of investment pledges fell 7.1 percent on-year to 771 in the first quarter, and the amount of investment that actually arrived in South Korea also sank 27.7 percent on-year to $3.38 billion, the data showed.
By industry, the manufacturing sector received investment pledges of $1.54 billion in the first quarter, down 6 percent on-year, while FDI pledges to the service sector rose 5 percent to $3.95 billion.
In the manufacturing sector, the tech field saw investment pledges spike 769 percent on-year, and the chemical engineering field enjoyed a 53 percent growth in investment commitments.
By investor, FDI pledges from the European Union and Britain soared 257.9 percent on-year to $2.08 billion, accounting for 37 percent of total investment pledges made during the first three months of the year.
FDI pledges from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia also rose 17.6 percent to $1.4 billion in the first quarter.
But the United States vowed to invest $750 million, down 13.9 percent on-year, and that from Japan dived 38.1 percent to $300 million in the January-March period, the data showed.
“The achievement came despite monetary tightening by major countries, high interest rates and other difficult circumstances. We also saw a jump in greenfield investment in advanced technology fields and new renewable energy sectors, which are expected to create a large number of jobs,” the ministry said in a release.
Greenfield investment, which refers to a parent company’s launch of a new venture or the establishment of new facilities, increased 12.5 percent on-year to $4.18 billion, while investment in the form of mergers and acquisitions fell 16 percent on-year to $1.45 billion, the data showed.
(Yonhap)
