South Korea’s overseas direct investment fell 15.3 percent on-year in the first three months of the year, weighed on by the coronavirus pandemic, with investments to China and Hong Kong having fallen the most, data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance showed Friday.

Local companies invested a combined $12.6 billion in the cited period, compared with $14.9 billion reported for the same quarter last year. This year’s first quarter also marked the first time the figure turned into a downward trend.

Such investment by the finance and insurance industry -- which accounted for largest share of direct overseas investment among industries here with 28.5 percent -- declined 31.3 percent on-year in the first quarter to $3.6 billion. The ministry cited market uncertainties and a global plunge in stock prices due to the pandemic.

The manufacturing sector, accounting for 20.6 percent of the total share, saw a 55.4 percent drop in their investment to $2.6 billion in the same period, due to contraction in global demand.

Real estate investment, meanwhile, increased by 23.9 percent on-year to nearly $2 billion in the cited period, buoyed with mass investment in the North American and the European market early in the year.

Of economies, the Korean firms’ investment in the US – ranking No. 1 in terms of share of overseas investment – declined 7.1 percent on-year to $3.6 billion in the first quarter.

Direct investment in China and Hong Kong in the same period plunged 56.7 percent and 74.9 percent to $730 million and $170 million, contracting the most among key economies.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)