Illustrative photo (Source: english.yonhapnews.co.kr)New foreign direct investment (FDI) pledged to the Republic of Korea (RoK) in the first three quarters of this year declined due to military tension on the Korean Peninsula and rising protectionist practices by major trading partners, Yonhap news agency reported, citing the RoK Government’s announcement on October 12.
The news agency quoted statistics of the country's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy that showed FDI commitments from January to September totalled 13.59 billion USD, down 9.7 percent from a year earlier.
The amount of actual investments made by foreign investors and companies, however, rose 9.1 percent on-year to 8 billion USD over the reviewed period.
According to the ministry, new FDI pledges from the RoK's two largest trading partners -- the United States and China -- have dropped, with new investment pledge from the US decreasing 5.5 percent on-year to 2.9 billion USD in the nine-month period, and that from China dropped 19.5 percent to 3.64 billion USD.
In contrast, FDI pledges from European Union countries jumped 22 percent over the cited period.
By industry, new FDI pledges in the country's manufacturing sector declined 3.5 percent on-year to 4.16 billion USD, and those in the service sector went down 8.8 percent to 9.38 billion USD.
The ministry was quoted by Yonhap as saying that foreign investment is unlikely to make a turnaround in the fourth quarter because the US and European Union are rolling back quantitative easing and prospects for the Brexit talks remain uncertain./.