BEIJING, Jan. 9  -- China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will encourage mutual investment in more sectors as new opportunities are brought by the expected free trade agreement (FTA).

The two countries will boost investment in automobiles, culture, elder care, film and television production, manufacturing and medicine,Yang Yihang, an official of the Ministry of Commerce, said on Friday.

The ministry will cooperate with agencies of the ROK to support the building of industrial parks in China for enterprises of both sides.

The governments of Changzhou, Weifang, Weihai, Wenzhou and Yantai intend to set up China-ROK industrial parks.

The two sides concluded FTA negotiations in 2014. The MOC said in November that the agreement will be signed in this year and take effect in the second half.

China is the third largest investor in the ROK, which in return is the fifth largest investor of the former. The investment from the ROK increased 26.5 percent year on year to 3.28 billion U.S. dollars in the first ten months of 2014.