SEOUL, KOREA - The Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry announced the results of its survey on the size of corporate investment in plants and equipment for the second half of this year. This survey was conducted with Korea’s 1,008 major companies from May 15 to 27.
A total of 43.4 percent of respondents said their plants and equipment investment for the second half will remain the same as it was a year ago. Meanwhile, 34.4 percent said they plan to increase the investment, while 22.2 percent said they would reduce the investment.
Major industries turned out to have mixed investment plans. Most of the respondents who said they will increase investment are engaged in the automobile and transportation equipment business (55.3%), followed by the industries of construction, food & beverage and steel. The shipbuilding (34.1%) and machinery industries (32.9%), which have been suffering from a serious slump, plan to reduce their investment.
42.1 percent of those who plans to increase plants and equipment investment in the second half picked “the replacement of old production equipment” as a key reason for the increase, followed by “entry into new business (25.1%),” “preemptive investment for the future (19.9%),” “expectations for the economic recovery in and outside Korea (11.2%).”
