South Korea's 2021 outbound FDI at record-high $76 bn

South Korea's outbound direct investment in 2021 soared 32.8% from the year previous to a record-high $75.9 billion, led by financial investors and manufacturing companies, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Wednesday.

By country, the US made up 36% of the country's 2021 foreign direct investment (FDI) with $27.6 billion, an 81.8% on-year surge, the ministry said.

One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, Korean exporters led by chipmakers and electric vehicle (EV) battery producers resumed large-scale facility investments abroad.

The country's outbound FDI in 2021 was more than double the $29.5 billion inbound FDI into South Korea in the same year.

By industry, insurance and other financial services firms were the most active investors with a combined $29.3 billion, up 58.5% on-year.

Manufacturing companies came next with $18.2 billion in FDI, followed by real estate companies with $7 billion.

EV makers such as LG Energy Solution Ltd. and SK On Co. were among the companies most aggressive in overseas investments last year, setting up multibillion-dollar joint ventures with General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., respectively.  

POSCO Chemical Co. joined them in building overseas facilities to produce EV materials in the US, jointly with General Motors. 

This year, Korean exporters are likely to continue to expand overseas facility investments.

Samsung Electronics is slated to begin construction of a $17 billion chipmaking plant in Taylor, Texas, about 25 km from Austin, in the first half of this year. It aims to have the facility operational before the end of 2024.

LG Energy, the world's No. 2 EV battery supplier, is reportedly preparing to build a billion-dollar battery plant in the US state of Arizona to meet growing demand in North America.

For the fourth quarter of 2021 alone, South Korea's outward FDI totaled $30.2 billion, a 62.7% jump on-year. Excluding the proceeds from investment exits or fund liquidations, net FDI outflows swelled 82.7% on-year to $26.1 billion. 

Write to Zi-Hoon Lee at lizi@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.