FDI pledges to Seoul top $10 bln for first time in 2019

All News 11:58 January 06, 2020

SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Yonhap) -- The amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) pledged to Seoul exceeded US$10 billion for the first time last year as the popularity of so-called K-beauty products drove investment in manufacturers, the city government said Monday.

Seoul received a record US$10.1 billion worth of FDI commitments in 2019, compared with the previous record of $9.6 billion in 2016, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

From the previous year, the amount of FDI pledges increased 12 percent, or $1.1 billion.

The city said the growth was due to both new investors and increases by existing investors.

New investment jumped 16 percent on-year to $3.7 billion, while that of existing investors rose 11 percent in the same period to $6 billion.

By sector, manufacturers saw investment nearly triple to $2 billion, helped by the growing popularity of Korean cosmetics, or K-beauty products, according to the city.

Investment in the service sector dipped 3 percent on-year to $8.1 billion but continued to account for the majority of FDI in the country's capital.

The city government said it plans to open a help desk to help foreign investors and hold 10 rounds of overseas investor relations meetings to attract more investment.