Korea’s Outbound Foreign Direct Investment, Q2 2023

Korea’s Outbound FDI Posts $15.31 Billion in Q2 2023

Korea’s outbound foreign direct investment (FDI) in the second quarter (April to June) 2023 amounted to $15.31 billion, falling by 22.9 percent compared with a year ago, which hit $19.84 billion. It also dropped by 8.8% from the previous quarter, showing a slowdown in investment that had seen a slight increase in the first quarter of 2023.

Korea’s outbound FDI, Q2 2023

  (US $billion, %, y-o-y)

By industry, Korea’s outbound FDI decreased in most of the sectors such as finance and insurance ($5.79 billion, down 20.7% y-o-y), manufacturing ($4.0 billion, down 33.0% y-o-y), real estate and renting ($1.25 billion, down 20.1% y-o-y), and information and communications ($0.89 billion, down 15.0% y-o-y) while its investment increased in the mining ($1.04 billion, up 122.9% y-o-y).

By region, Korea’s outbound FDI declined in the entire regions except Africa ($0.1 billion, up 109.1% y-o-y), including North America ($7.43 billion, down 9.1% y-o-y), Asia ($3.42 billion, down 14.5% y-o-y) and Europe ($2.06 billion, down 39.1% y-o-y). By country, the top destinations for the FDI were the U.S. ($6.21 billion, down 14.2%), followed by the Cayman Islands ($1.38 billion, down 50.1%), Canada (US $1.22 billion, up 30.7%), Luxemburg ($1.1 billion, down 23.5%), Vietnam ($0.86 billion, up 0.2%) and China ($0.57 billion, down 53.3%).

Korea’s FDI in the second quarter of 2023 ($15.31 billion) was somewhat moderated following the rebound in the previous quarter, indicating that interest hikes and uncertainties in the global economy have continued to act as constraints on investment. In addition, in the process of global supply chain restructuring, Korea continues to make investment toward the U.S., aiming to securing advanced technologies and local markets while its investment in China appears to be shrinking.

Please refer to the attached files.