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Foreign Investment Figures for 2010
Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges rose 13.8 percent year on year to record $13.07 billion, the highest level seen in a decade. Throughout the previous six years, the figure had hovered near the $10 billion to $11 billion range. Although global FDI flows remained stagnant in 2010, the inflow of foreign capital increased, possibly due to greater trust in the country’s sound economic fundamentals. Notably, investments from the United States and Japan shot up drastically in the second half of the year—2.2 percent and 93.4 percent, respectively—fter a marked downturn in the first half. FDI in the manufacturing sector rose dramatically to $6.54 billion, representing a 75.6 percent year-on-year increase, while service-related investments dropped 18 percent to $6.23 billion. New growth engine sectors accounted for 23.6 percent of all investments; in contrast, the corresponding figure for 2009 was 18.8 percent. FDI through mergers and acquisitions fell 40.4 percent to $2.01 billion. Percentage of All Investment Amid rising FDI from emerging countries, investments from China jumped 159.2 percent to record $414 million. Ninety percent of this amount came in after the launch of a “China Desk” in May, which assists Chinese investors. Investments from the United States and Japan increased 28.3 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively. * Released by the Foreign Investment Policy Division date2011-01-05
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Trade Figures for 2010
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy has released its trade figures for 2010. Thanks to robust exports and lower-than-expected international oil prices, Korea’s trade balance hit an all-time high, posting a $41.7 billion surplus. Exports gained 28.6 percent year on year to reach $467.4 billion, the highest level on record. With the exception of September, exports consistently showed more than 20 percent growth throughout the year. Exports to most key trading partners increased during the period between January 1 and December 20; Oceania was a notable exception. Among 70 major exporters in the World Trade Organization, Korea ranked seventh for the first 10 months of 2010—head of Italy, Belgium and the United Kingdom. (China topped the list, followed by the United States and Germany.) Korea is expected to retain seventh place for all of 2010. Meanwhile, imports increased 31.8 percent to record $425.7 billion. Inbound shipments of equipment and parts related to key export items increased, consumer confidence improved, and raw material prices rose. All these factors contributed to high import growth rates. Inbound shipments of raw materials went up 34.5 percent, while imports of capital goods and consumer goods rose 28.8 percent and 29.4 percent, respectively. For the month of December, the trade surplus totaled $3.74 billion. Exports climbed 23.1 percent to $44.34 billion, while imports went up 23.3 percent to $40.6 billion. Exports of most of Korea’s 13 major export items showed an upward trend. Notably, outbound shipments of petroleum products and automobile parts grew 34.2 percent and 35.3 percent, respectively, year on year. * Released by the Export and Import Division date2011-01-04