Foreign direct investment in South Korea hit new high of $19bn

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into South Korea hit a new high of 19 billion U.S. dollars last year amid signs of global recovery, a government report showed Monday.
The FDI pledges, or pledge to make direct investment into the country, reached a fresh record 19 billion dollars in 2014, up 30. 6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The prior high was 16.29 billion dollars tallied in 2012.
In terms of the FDI that arrived in the country last year, it amounted to 11.52 billion dollars, up 17.1 percent from a year ago.
By country, FDI pledges from Singapore surged 288 percent in 2014 from a year earlier. Those from the European Union nations and the United States increased 35.4 percent and 2.4 percent each, but FDI from Japan reduced 7.5 percent.
FDI pledges from China, the country's largest trading partner, soared 147.2 percent last year amid rising economic cooperation after reaching a substantive conclusion to the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).
FDI pledges for manufacturers expanded 64.6 percent from a year earlier to 7.65 billion dollars in 2014, and those for the service industry rose 13.6 percent to 11.19 billion dollars.
By type, investment via merger and acquisition (M&A) surged 60. 3 percent to 7.98 billion dollars last year, and green filed investment, which builds factories and create new jobs, gained 15. 2 percent to 11.02 billion dollars.