Korea’s large firms are expected to spend less on their facility expansion than last year due mainly to continued economic uncertainties, a report showed on Sunday.

According to the report compiled by the Hyundai Research Institute, the nation’s large companies are likely to reduce their capital spending by 2 percent this year.

The nation’s 30 largest conglomerates earlier announced that they will invest a combined 150 trillion won ($134 billion) in 2012, up 12.3 percent from the previous year.

Of them, the country’s five largest conglomerates including Samsung and SK said earlier they plan to invest more than 104 trillion won in facilities and research and development (R&D), up 18.2 percent from the total spent in 2011.

They invested 88 trillion won last year.

South Korea is struggling to bolster corporate investment and job creation at a time when the nation’s economy is faced with tough conditions at home and abroad.

South Korea’s economy expanded 3.8 percent last year, down sharply from the 6.2 percent gain tallied in 2010.

The government and the Bank of Korea said the economy may grow 3.7 percent this year amid worries that the global economic downturn could hurt its exports, a major growth engine. 

(Yonhap News)