Record High Foreign Direct Investment in Q1 This Year... Arrival-Based $4.27 Billion

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Foreign Direct Investment Trends in Q1 2021

Arrival-based Historical Q1 FDI Performance (Unit: 100 million USD)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] In the first quarter of this year, the scale of foreign direct investment (FDI) exceeded $4.2 billion based on arrivals, marking the highest performance ever recorded.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 5th, FDI in the first quarter of 2021 was $4.74 billion based on declarations, a 44.7% increase compared to the same period last year, and $4.27 billion based on arrivals, a 42.9% increase. This performance ranks third highest ever based on declaration amounts for the first quarter, and the highest ever based on arrival amounts.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy explained, "Despite difficult conditions such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we achieved the highest ever first quarter performance based on arrivals, laying the foundation for a positive turnaround in FDI in 2021. Investments delayed last year due to repeated outbreaks and resurgences of COVID-19 resumed, mainly in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), resulting in significant increases in both declarations and arrivals." Last year, FDI was $20.75 billion based on declarations and $11.09 billion based on arrivals, decreasing by 11.1% and 17.0%, respectively.

By sector, investments in non-face-to-face industries and online platforms, such as e-commerce, fintech, and the sharing economy, which are expected to grow in market size after COVID-19, amounted to $2.77 billion based on declarations and $2.35 billion based on arrivals, increasing by 39.2% and 12.2%, respectively. This includes the acquisition of Woowa Brothers, the operator of the domestic delivery application "Baedal Minjok," by Germany's Delivery Hero for $2.1 billion. The Green New Deal sector also saw a significant increase from $7 million in the first quarter of last year to $55 million in the first quarter of this year based on declarations.

On the other hand, FDI in the materials, parts, and equipment sector based on declarations decreased from $447 million last year to $265 million in the first quarter of this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.