South Korea's conglomerates cut investments by 5% in first 9 months

South Korea's 30 major conglomerates slashed their investments by 5.1 percent in the first nine months of this year, data showed Tuesday, despite the government's appeal for aggressive investments to revitalize the country's slumping economy. The combined investments by 155 companies affiliated with the country's 30 business groups reached 68.2 trillion won (US$64.2 billion) between January and September, compared with 71.9 trillion from a year ago, according to data compiled by CEOscore, a website that tracks the country's conglomerates as well as financial firms and state-run companies.