New foreign direct investments pledged to South Korea in the first three months of this year jumped 28.1% compared with a year ago on the back of improved ties with China, government data showed Wednesday, Yonhap reported. South Korea received $4.92 billion worth of FDI commitments from January to March, marking the second-largest figure for the first quarter, according to the ministry of trade, industry and energy.
The amount of actual investments made by foreign investors and companies, however, retreated 2.9% on-year to $2.91 billion over the cited period, the ministry said. “The FDI pledges are expected to stay on the upward trend, but concerns over the protracted trade war between the US and China and the US interest rate hike’s impact on the global M&A market are potential negative factors,” the ministry said in a release.
New FDI pledged from China rose a whopping 541.5% to $1.05 billion as investors showed an increased interest in real estate, as well as memory chips and electronic parts.
