Planned S.Korea Q2 FDI increase highest in over a year

SEOUL, June 2 (Reuters) - Foreign direct investment (FDI) plans received by South Korea for the second quarter showed an increase of 62 percent from year-ago levels, the fastest rate in more than a year as investors displayed more confidence about an economic turnaround.

The marked upswing was driven by a couple of sizable deals -- eBay's (EBAY.O) purchase of South Korean online retailer Gmarket GMKT.O, and Tesco's (TSCO.L) investment in a logistics facility, the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy said in a statement on Thursday.

"Foreign investors seem to have highly regarded our economy's relatively solid fundamentals and consumer sentiment's rapid recovery," the ministry said.

Asia's fourth-largest economy received foreign direct investment pledges totalling $2.97 billion during the April-June period, up 62 percent from a year earlier, the biggest jump since a 69.8 percent rise in the first quarter of 2008, the ministry said.

The ministry expected foreign direct investment pledges to top its goal of $12.5 billion this year, given stable foreign exchange rates and improving economic conditions.

For the first half of the year, the nation attracted a total of $4.64 billion worth of foreign direct investment.

(Reporting by Seo Eun-kyung; Editing by Ken Wills)