SEOUL, June 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's overseas direct investment fell in the first quarter due to weaker demand for manufacturing and real estate investment, government data showed Friday.
Overseas investment through the purchase of foreign stocks and the establishment of foreign offices decreased 8.9 percent from a year earlier to 15.13 billion U.S. dollars in the January-March quarter after mounting 11.2 percent in the previous quarter, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Overseas investment in the manufacturing industry dived 16.9 percent to 3.56 billion dollars, with those in the real estate and the wholesale and retail sectors retreating in double figures to 1.09 billion dollars and 400 million dollars each.
Investment in the finance and insurance and the mining industries advanced in double digits to 7.74 billion dollars and 1.05 billion dollars, respectively.
Direct investment in North America and Europe shrank in double digits to 5.82 billion dollars and 3.38 billion dollars each, but investment in Asia jumped 26.4 percent to 3.03 billion dollars. ■
