S Korean growth slows to 3 year low

South Korea's economy grew 0.1 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months -- the slowest pace in more than three years, on shrinking investment and manufacturing, according to the latest data. The revised figure -- compared to 0.2 percent growth predicted by the Bank of Korea in October -- was the same as the first quarter of 2009 when the South was hit by the global financial crisis. On a year-on-year basis, gross domestic product -- the broadest measure of economic performance -- for July-September was up 1.5 percent, compared to 2.3 percent on-year gain in the second quarter. Exports, which account for nearly half of Asia's fourth-largest economy, rose 2.8 percent from the previous quarter due to robust overseas shipments of mobile devices and petrochemical products. Consumer spending rose 0.7 percent during the same period, picking up from the second quarter's 0.4-percent gain, on increased spending on mobile phones and fuels. But facility investment shrank 4.8 percent from the previous quarter, worse than the central bank's earlier estimate in October, hitting key industries such as semiconductors and autos. Manufacturing production also fell 0.4 percent. Farming production, hit by recent storms and other natural disasters, tumbled 4.1 percent from the second quarter. Construction investment inched up 0.1 percent, weaker than the central bank's earlier projection of a 0.2-percent rise. South Korea, with an export-led economy, tends to mirror the fortunes of the region, and its GDP numbers are often a harbinger of broader trends in Asia.