SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Industrial lending in South Korea slowed in the second quarter as companies needed to clean accounting books ahead of the end of the first half, central bank data showed Wednesday.
Debts owed by companies, public offices and the government to deposit takers, including banks, savings banks and credit unions, reached 1,082.7 trillion won (975 billion U.S. dollars) as of the end of June, up 12.9 trillion won (11.6 billion U.S. dollars) from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It was down from the first-quarter increase of 18.3 trillion won (16.5 billion U.S. dollars) as local companies tended to reduce debts ahead of the end of the first half.
Debts among manufacturers rose in the second quarter, but those in the transport and construction sectors shrank in the quarter.
Lending in the wholesale & retail, lodging and eatery sectors jumped 6 trillion won (5.4 billion U.S. dollars) during the quarter, marking the biggest quarterly growth since the BOK began compiling the data in 2008.
It was attributable to the rising number of the self-employed in the sectors. Laid-off workers tended to become the self-employed by opening restaurants and lodging houses.
Debts owed by real estate developers expanded 7.0 trillion won (6.3 billion U.S. dollars) during the second quarter, but it slowed down after peaking at a growth of 9.7 trillion won (8.7 billion U.S. dollars) in the third quarter of last year.
