SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea hit a record high last year owing to robust investment in the transport machinery and the finance and insurance sectors, government data showed Thursday.
The reported FDI gained 7.5 percent over the year to reach a new high of 32.72 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, topping 30 billion dollars for the second straight year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
After bottoming at 20.75 billion dollars in 2020, the FDI continued to grow for the third consecutive year.
The FDI in the domestic manufacturing industry declined 4.5 percent to 11.92 billion dollars last year.
Foreign investment in the transport machinery sector skyrocketed 167.8 percent to 1.76 billion dollars, but those in the chemical and machinery equipment segments retreated in double figures.
The FDI in the local service industry advanced 7.3 percent to 17.79 billion dollars in the cited year.
Investment in the finance and insurance sector more than doubled to 9.77 billion dollars, but those in the wholesale and retail, real estate and information and communication segments dropped in double digits.
Direct investment from the United States, the European Union and Japan all tumbled in double figures to 6.13 billion dollars, 6.22 billion dollars and 1.3 billion dollars respectively.
Greenfield investment, which involves factory construction and employment, expanded 5.5 percent to 23.54 billion dollars, while the merger and acquisition investment increased 12.9 percent to 9.18 billion dollars. ■
