Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea grew 4.3 percent on-year for the first nine months of this year due to solid investment from advanced nations, a government report showed Tuesday.
The cumulative FDI in the country amounted to 7.58 billion U.S. dollars during the January-September period, up 4.3 percent from the same period of last year, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement.
The ministry said foreign investment in the Asia's No. 4 economy sustained its growth trend despite heightened external uncertainties such as the European debt crisis, but it noted that the growth rate continued to decline.
The FDI from the so-called traditional investors such as the United States and Japan led this year's growth, according to the statement. The FDI from the U.S. surged 67.6 percent on-year to 1. 3 billion dollars in the nine months of this year, with investment from Japan and the European Union (EU) jumping by 37.6 percent and 39.7 percent each over the cited period.
In contrast, the FDI from emerging nations declined. Direct investment from China dwindled by 23.3 percent on-year during the January-September period, and investment from the Middle Eastern region contracted 58.1 percent over the same period.
Meanwhile, greenfield-type FDI such as building factories grew 5.7 percent on-year for the first nine months, but M&A-type investment declined 2.7 percent over the same period./.