South Korean manufacturers' facility investment falls 2% in 2012

South Korean manufacturers spent less money on expanding and upgrading their facilities in 2012 than a year earlier amid economic uncertainties, data showed Wednesday. According to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea, the manufacturing sector's facility investment reached 67.5 trillion won (US$62.3 billion) last year, down 1.39 trillion won, or 2 percent, from a year earlier. By sector, the petroleum and chemical segment cut their facility investment by 5.7 percent to 10.32 trillion won. Electronics companies' facility spending also slipped 0.7 percent to reach 30.72 trillion won over the cited period, the data showed. On the other hand, the country's service sector invested 44.65 trillion won in its facilities last year, up 0.4 percent from a year earlier. The country's facility investment in total reached 120.95 trillion won last year, down 0.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data.