SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's corporate financing fell in the third quarter of last year as economic slump discouraged companies from borrowing money for new investment, central bank data showed Thursday.
Non-financial companies borrowed 28.7 trillion won (24.8 billion U.S. dollars) in the July-September quarter, sharply down from 50.4 trillion won (43.5 billion U.S. dollars) tallied a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Companies refrained from borrowing money in the quarter as economic slowdown reduced demand for investment.
To bolster the sluggish economy, the BOK cut its benchmark interest rate from 1.75 percent to 1.50 percent in July, before slashing it further to a record low of 1.25 percent in October.
Corporate investment in financial assets tumbled to 9.8 trillion won (8.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the third quarter from 41.6 trillion won (35.9 billion U.S. dollars) recorded a year earlier.
Households' investment in financial assets amounted to 39.3 trillion won (33.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the September quarter, up 1.4 trillion won (1.2 billion U.S. dollars) from a year earlier.
Households borrowed 21.7 trillion won (18.7 billion U.S. dollars) from financial institutions in the cited quarter, down 4.3 trillion won (3.7 billion U.S. dollars) from a year earlier.
