[Aju News DB]
Southeast Asian nations led by Vietnam replaced China as a key place favored by South Korean investors, accounting for more than 15 percent of their total direct investments abroad, a business report showed Monday.
Of 27 billion US dollars in South Korea's total direct investment abroad, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) cornered 15.4 percent or $4.16 billion, according to the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), a lobbying group of big companies.
Meanwhile, South Korea's investment in China reached $2.85 billion last year or 10.5 percent of the total, as many Korean firms relocated plants to Vietnam and other Asian countries.
South Korea's direct investment in Vietnam rose to $1.5 billion last year from $70 million in 2000, the federation said in a report, adding Vietnam has become an alternative production base for South Korean companies as it provides cheap and labor, good infrastructure and an investor-friendly environment.
South Korean firms think Vietnam is luring foreign investors with an aggressive government policy of providing incentives to foreign investors while China has done the opposite.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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