FDI in S Korea grows 4.3pc in 9 months

SEOUL, Oct 11 (Xinhua): Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea grew 4.3 per cent on-year for the first nine months of this year due to solid investment from advanced nations, a government report showed Tuesday. The cumulative FDI in the country amounted to 7.58 billion US dollars during the January-September period, up 4.3 per cent from the same period of last year, the ministry of knowledge economy said in a statement. The ministry said foreign investment in the Asia's No 4 economy sustained its growth trend despite heightened external uncertainties such as the European debt crisis, but it noted that the growth rate continued to decline. The FDI from the so-called traditional investors such as the United States and Japan led this year's growth, according to the statement. The FDI from the US surged 67.6 per cent on-year to 1.3 billion dollars in the nine months of this year, with investment from Japan and the European Union (EU) jumping by 37.6 per cent and 39.7 per cent each over the cited period.