Debt, owed by all industries to deposit-taking financial institutions, amounted to 1,916.6 trillion won (1.4 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of March, up by 27.0 trillion won (19.7 billion dollars) from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It was up from a growth of 13.9 trillion won (10.2 billion dollars) in the fourth quarter of last year, thanks to higher demand from the manufacturing and construction industries.
Loans to manufacturers gained 12.2 trillion won (8.9 billion dollars) in the January-March quarter after reducing by 600 billion won (439.2 million dollars) in the previous quarter.
Lending to construction companies rebounded by 2.1 trillion won (1.5 billion dollars) in the first quarter after retreating by 800 billion won (585.7 million dollars) in the prior quarter.
Loan demand from the service industry increased by 11.0 trillion won (8.1 billion dollars) in the first quarter, lower than an expansion of 11.9 trillion won (8.7 billion dollars) in the previous quarter.
The industrial lending for operating fund mounted by 14.7 trillion won (10.8 billion dollars) in the cited quarter, while the lending for facilities' fund swelled by 12.3 trillion won (9 billion dollars).
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