▲ Ministry of Economy and Finance
South Korea's overseas direct investment has shown an upward trend for four consecutive quarters.
According to the overseas direct investment trends released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 10th, overseas direct investment (based on total investment) in the second quarter of this year (April to June) reached $20.52 billion, a 32.3% increase from $15.5 billion a year earlier.
Although it decreased slightly compared to the first quarter ($22.12 billion), it continued the trend of investment expansion for four consecutive quarters since the third quarter of last year compared to the same period last year.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance analyzed that the increase in second-quarter overseas direct investment was driven by growing investments in the finance and insurance sectors for global diversification to diversify returns, as well as the expansion of South Korean companies entering overseas markets, centered around the information and communications industry.
By industry, the scale of investment was led by finance and insurance at $10.48 billion, followed by manufacturing at $3.57 billion, information and communications at $2.73 billion, and professional, scientific and technical services and real estate at $660 million each.
Among the top five industries, all except real estate (-7.5%) showed an increase, with the growth rate of the information and communications industry (265.3%) being particularly notable.
By region, North America led with $9.19 billion, followed by Asia at $5.57 billion, Europe at $2.98 billion, and Latin America at $2.14 billion.
In particular, investment in Asia surged by 68.8%, and North American investment also grew by 50.3%.
By country, the United States recorded the largest investment amount at $8.86 billion.
This represents a 53.6% increase from a year ago.
It was followed by Japan at $2.46 billion, Luxembourg at $1.59 billion, the Cayman Islands at $1.54 billion, and Indonesia at $1.02 billion.
The government stated that amid shifting external economic and investment conditions, such as changes in monetary policies across countries, it will closely monitor the trends of overseas direct investment and strengthen communication and cooperation with major investment recipient countries to help companies expanding abroad maintain stable business activities.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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