S.Korea's overseas direct investment falls 5 pct in Q3

SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's overseas direct investment logged the first fall in six quarters in the third quarter of this year, government data showed Tuesday.

Overseas investment through the purchase of foreign stocks or the establishment of foreign offices came in at 16.61 billion U.S. dollars in the July-September quarter, down 5.0 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

It marked the first slide in six quarters since the first quarter of 2021 on the back of rising uncertainty at home and abroad, caused by rapid interest rate hikes in major economies.

Direct investment in North America and Asia declined in double digits to 6.44 billion dollars and 3.58 billion dollars each, but investment in Europe surged 58.7 percent to 3.36 billion dollars.

Overseas investment in the finance and insurance and the manufacturing industries expanded to 7.58 billion dollars and 4.17 billion dollars, but investment in the overseas real estate sector tumbled 44.9 percent to 1.27 billion dollars, the ministry said.