Foreign direct investment decreases 4% in 1st nine months

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea decreased 4 percent in the first nine months of this year from the same period last year, the government reported Thursday.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, FDI reached US$10.75 billion in the January-September period, down from $11.20 billion tallied a year earlier.

The report attributed the decrease to a plunge of FDI from Japan amid a weaker Japanese yen. FDI from Japan plunged 40.6 percent in the first nine months from the corresponding period last year, it said.

On the other hand, FDI from the United States and the European Union surged 43.8 percent to $2.69 billion and 51.2 percent to $3.22 billion, respectively, the report said.

AJP