SEOUL, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea logged a double-digit growth in the first quarter due to robust investment in the manufacturing industry, government data showed Tuesday.

The reported FDI jumped 25.1 percent over the year to 7.05 billion U.S. dollars in the January-March quarter, posting the largest first-quarter figure in the country's history, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The FDI in the domestic manufacturing industry spiked 99.2 percent from a year earlier to 3.08 billion dollars in the first quarter.

Foreign investment in the electric and electronic sector more than doubled to 1.45 billion dollars, while investment in the machinery, equipment and medical instrument segment grew in double digits to 540 million dollars.

The FDI in the local service industry reduced 2.5 percent to 3.85 billion dollars in the cited quarter.

Investment in the finance and insurance sector gained in double figures to 2.19 billion dollars, but those in the real estate and the wholesale and retail segments dropped in double digits.

Direct investment from the United States and the European Union (EU) slipped to 720 million dollars and 570 million dollars each, but investment from Japan almost quadrupled to 1.13 billion dollars.

Greenfield investment, which involves factory construction and employment, shed 7.1 percent to 3.86 billion dollars in the first quarter, but the merger and acquisition investment more than doubled to 3.19 billion dollars. Enditem

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