S. Korea's overseas direct investment up 32 pc in Q2 2026

Seoul: South Korea's overseas direct investment rose 32.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 from a year earlier, data showed on Tuesday, led by the financial and communication sectors.

Overseas direct investment by South Korea totalled US$20.52 billion in the April-June period, up from $15.5 billion from the same three month period in 2025, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economy.

The figure has posted on-year growth since the third quarter of 2025, reports Yonhap news agency.

By sector, overseas investment in the financial and insurance industry jumped 33.4 percent to $10.48 billion.

The finance ministry attributed the increase to South Korean businesses' efforts to diversify their global portfolios.

Overseas direct investment in manufacturing rose 3.2 percent on-year to $3.57 billion.

Investment in the information and communication sector more than tripled to $2.73 billion, the data showed.

By destination, investment in the United States rose 53.6 percent to $8.86 billion, followed by Japan at $2.46 billion, sharply up from $300 million a year earlier.

Investment in Luxembourg rose 14.2 percent to $1.59 billion, the latest findings showed.

Meanwhile, South Korea's business sentiment contracted in September from a nearly four-year high in August, largely due to increased costs, a central bank survey showed on Tuesday.

The Composite Business Sentiment Index (CBSI) for all industries stood at 99.1 in September, down 0.5 point from the previous month, according to data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The reading rose to the highest level in August since September 2022, after the COVID-19 pandemic, with the index reaching 102.

The index measures corporate outlooks on overall business conditions, with a reading below 100 indicating that pessimists outnumber optimists.

The BOK said sentiment in the non-manufacturing sector, including transportation and leisure, improved, while the manufacturing sector suffered a decline in the business sentiment.

The CBSI among manufacturers stood at 99.5 this month, down from 103.8 the previous month, while the index for non-manufacturing companies increased to 98.9 from 96.7 over the cited period.

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