Korea's capital outflow up

Korea's capital outflow up

SEOUL (AFP): A drastic deregulation move helped South Korean firms boost direct overseas investment by 88.3 percent last year to a highest ever US$3.52 billion, officials said yesterday.

Along with eased regulations on the transfer of capital for overseas investment, many South Korean firms have been lured by cheap labor, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said.

Manufacturing firms, suffering most from high domestic costs, spearheaded the outbound rush, representing 73.4 percent of total 1,917 offshore investment projects approved last year, the ministry said.

China, Vietnam and other Asian countries attracted 83.7 percent of last year's total overseas investments by South Korean firms, it said.

China topped the list, drawing 1,051 projects worth 808