Busan City Achieves Record High Foreign Direct Investment Declaration Amount Last Year

$640 Million Record High Performance ... Over $500 Million Reported for 3 Consecutive Years

Service and Manufacturing Investment, Long-term and Stable Growth, Increase in Foreign Direct Investment

Busan City achieved the largest-ever foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction record last year through active efforts to attract foreign-invested companies.

Busan City Hall.

According to the 2023 Foreign Direct Investment Trends announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 4th, Busan's reported FDI amount within the region reached a record high of 640 million USD in 2023.

As a result, Busan's FDI reported amount has exceeded 500 million USD for three consecutive years since 2021, and has more than doubled compared to four years ago.

In 2023, the number of investment reports and arrivals were 92 and 86 cases respectively, showing increases of 15% and 26.4% compared to 2022 (80 reports, 68 arrivals).

The main investment sectors of foreign-invested companies were the service industry and manufacturing, while the major investing countries included the United Kingdom, Singapore, the United States, and the Cayman Islands.

The achievement of this record was largely due to the long-term and stable growth in investments in the service and manufacturing sectors in both 2022 and 2023, which led to the overall increase in foreign direct investment.

Out of the total 92 cases and 640 million USD in reported FDI, the service industry accounted for 72 cases and 370 million USD, representing 58.3%, while manufacturing accounted for 16 cases and 110 million USD, or 17.4%.

In particular, in manufacturing, additional investments from existing companies continued, which is expected to contribute to the advancement of the region's key industries and the restructuring of future industries.

By major investing countries, the shares were as follows: United Kingdom with 4 cases and 160 million USD (24.4%), Singapore with 12 cases and 150 million USD (24%), the United States with 4 cases and 110 million USD (17%), and the Cayman Islands with 1 case and 100 million USD (5.6%).

The United Kingdom focused investments on electricity and gas, Singapore on finance, insurance, research and development (R&D), and science and technology, the United States on information and communication, wholesale and retail (distribution), and the Cayman Islands on transportation and warehousing.

Especially, Singapore concentrated investments in specialized fields such as finance and R&D, which is expected to put Busan’s quantum computer complex facilities and other advanced industry-leading infrastructure projects on track.

Additionally, investments related to new energy industries surged, leading to a record high investment in the electricity and gas sector.

Greenfield investments, where foreign-invested companies directly establish production facilities or corporations in the target country, also reached a record high of 610 million USD, contributing to job creation and regional economic revitalization. Among these, new investments amounted to 280 million USD, showing a significant increase compared to the previous year.

The city evaluated that despite the global adverse conditions of the "three highs" (high interest rates, high inflation, and high exchange rates) causing investment contractions, the increase in foreign investment in Busan proves that Busan has firmly established itself as an attractive investment destination.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun stated, “As a result of our efforts to create an optimal investment environment and advance the industrial structure, we have attracted nine major conglomerate affiliates and R&D centers including Samsung and Hanwha over the past three years. Last year, we opened an era of 4 trillion KRW in investment attraction, which is 14 times larger than before. I believe that the record-high FDI achievement is due to these efforts by the city and the rising brand value of Busan, which has increased trust in Busan as a business-friendly city.” He added, “In 2024, we will further intensify investment attraction efforts, and through the enactment of the Global Hub City Special Act, we will transform Busan into an international business free city like Singapore and Hong Kong, making it a city where more people, companies, and capital gather.”

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