Foreign direct investment in S.Korea hits record high in 2021

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea hit a record high last year due to rapid growth of investment in the services industry, a government report showed Monday.

The reported FDI jumped 42.3 percent over the year to 29.51 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

It was the highest since relevant data began to be compiled in 1962, marking the first rebound in three years.

The reported FDI in the services sector advanced 64.2 percent to 23.57 billion dollars last year, but the investment in the local manufacturing industry declined 16.2 percent to 5 billion dollars.

The direct investment from China, the European Union (EU) and Japan increased to 7.54 billion dollars, 12.8 billion dollars and 1.21 billion dollars each, but investment from the United States fell to 5.26 billion dollars.

The greenfield investment, which includes the construction of factories and employment, soared 83.2 percent over the year to 11.42 billion dollars last year, while the merger and acquisition (M&A) investment gained 24.7 percent to 18.09 billion dollars.