SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea hit a record high in the first nine months of this year due to a record investment in the manufacturing industry, government data showed Wednesday.

The reported FDI stood at 25.18 billion U.S. dollars in the January-September period, up 5.2 percent compared with the same period of last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

It marked the highest since relevant data began to be compiled in 1962.

The FDI in the domestic manufacturing industry surged 36.4 percent to reach a new high of 12.31 billion dollars in the nine-month period.

Foreign investment in the electric and electronic sector jumped 35.9 percent to 4.51 billion dollars, while investment in the machinery equipment and medical precision instrument segment more than doubled to 1.66 billion dollars.

The FDI in the local service industry shrank 13.3 percent to 11.95 billion dollars in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier.

Investment in the finance and insurance sector reduced 1.1 percent to 7.32 billion dollars, with those in the wholesale and retail and the real estate segments dropping in double digits.

Direct investment from the United States and the European Union diminished to 3.12 billion dollars and 3.95 billion dollars each, but investment from Japan more than quintupled to 4.69 billion dollars.

Greenfield investment, which involves factory construction and employment, increased 12.9 percent to 18.93 billion dollars in the nine-month period, but the merger and acquisition investment slumped 12.7 percent to 6.26 billion dollars. Enditem

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