The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on April 2 that foreign direct investments(FDIs) pledged to Korea in the first quarter of 2024 jumped 25.1 percent year-on-year. It recorded USD 7.1 billion, breaking the highest first-quarter performance ever. FDIs that actually arrived in Korea over the same period reached $1.9 billion.
By industry, the manufacturing sector saw FDI pledges soar 99.2 percent to $3.1 billion, whereas those to service inched down 2.5 percent to $3.9 billion. Among manufacturing, electrical and electronics (up 113.5 percent to $1.5 billion), machinery and precision medical devices (up 49.2 percent to $0.5 billion), and chemical engineering (up 69.5 percent to $0.3 billion) advanced year-on-year. In service industries, finance and insurance (up 34.3 percent to $2.2 billion) enjoyed growth.
By region, FDIs from the U.S. and EU decreased owing to the high base effect from last year’s bulk investments, contracting 3.4 percent to $0.7 billion and 69.8 percent to $0.6 billion, respectively. FDIs from Japan and Greater China leaped 281.8 percent to $1.1 billion and 146.7 percent to $2.1 billion, respectively.
By type, greenfield investments shrank 7.1 percent to $3.9 billion, while M&A investments expanded 115.4 percent to $3.2 billion.