Corporate loans in South Korea continued to rise in the fourth quarter but its pace of growth had slowed compared to the third quarter as demand by builders waned, central bank data showed Tuesday.

Outstanding corporate loans extended by banks and non-bank institutions reached 882.9 trillion won ($801 billion) as of end-December, growing 10.4 trillion won from the previous quarter.

However, it dropped from an 11.5 trillion won on-quarter increase in the third quarter, according to the Bank of Korea.

The fourth-quarter increase marks the slowest growth since a 2.1 trillion won rise in the fourth quarter of last year.

The slower growth was mostly attributable to weak demand for loans in the construction sector, which has been faltering amid tepid trade and investment in the local property market.

Outstanding loans by builders totaled 39.1 trillion won as of the end of December, falling 4 trillion won from the previous quarter.

On an annual basis, outstanding corporate loans expanded 6.7 percent, or 55.1 trillion won, from the end of 2013, accelerating from 4.8 percent on-year growth a year earlier, the data showed. (Yonhap)