The country's overseas direct investment increased for two straight quarters. 

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Friday, the value of foreign investments made by South Korean companies came to over 17 billion U.S. dollars in the third quarter, up 58-point-two percent from a year earlier. 

The growth is largely attributed to the base effect, as the comparable figure for the same period last year was significantly low due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

By sector, finance and insurance took up the largest portion of the country's overseas investment with 42-point-three percent, followed by the manufacturing sector with 21-point-four percent. 

The investment in the real estate sector, which accounted for 13-point-nine percent of overseas investment, saw an on-year surge of 347-point-seven percent.  

By country, direct investment in the United States and Singapore jumped 261 percent and 103-point-seven percent, respectively.