FDI Totals $2.04 Bil. in 1st Quarter

KISC 2000/05

Foreign direct investment (FDI) rose 250 percent in terms of amount in the first quarter of this year over the corresponding period last year.

According to the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) yesterday, March saw a total of 141 FDI cases, up 4.4 percent from 135 a year ago, while the aggregate amounted to $727 million, a 199.1 percent rise over $243 million in March last year.

For the January through March period, FDI cases totaled 389, up 26.3 percent from the same quarter last year, while the amounts were tallied at $2.04 billion for the first three months of this year, up a whopping 250.3 percent from $572 million in the same quarter last year.

``The FDI amount recorded last quarter is the biggest by quarter since the first three months of 1997, when the total amounted to $2.124 billion,'' a MOFE official said.

Out of the total FDI registered in the first quarter, the acquisition of new shares topped the list in terms of form of investment with $1.512 million or 75.4 percent, the MOFE said.

By the country, the United States invested a total of $748 million, up 340 percent from a year ago, while EU countries invested a combined $863 million, up 426.2 percent. Japan fell back by 35.7 percent to $119 million.

By industry, manufacturing was the top draw with $656 million, or 32.8 percent, while services and non-manufacturing areas attracted $1.348 million or 67.3 percent.