SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's industrial lending grew slower in the second quarter due to improvement in corporate earnings, central bank data showed Friday.
Debt, owed by all industries to deposit-taking financial institutions, came in at 1,941.6 trillion won (1.46 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of June, up 25.0 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.
It was down from a growth of 27.0 trillion won in the January-March quarter as higher corporate earnings weakened funding demand.
Loan to manufacturers expanded by 6.8 trillion won in the April-June quarter, down from an increase of 12.2 trillion won in the previous quarter.
Lending to construction companies added 200 billion won in the second quarter after gaining 2.1 trillion won in the prior quarter.
Loan demand from service firms jumped 13.5 trillion won in the second quarter, faster than an expansion of 11.0 trillion won in the first quarter.
The industrial lending for operating funds climbed 7.9 trillion won, while the lending for facilities' funds swelled 17.0 trillion won in the cited quarter. (1 won equals 0.00075 U.S. dollars) ■
