South Korea's overseas direct investment rose at the fastest pace in nearly five years in the third quarter amid the global economic recovery, data showed Friday.

South Korean companies' overseas investments came to $17.01 billion in the July-September period, up 58.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

It marked the fastest on-year gain since the fourth quarter of 2016, when it grew 58.3 percent.

The third-quarter growth rate was also higher than a 30 percent gain three months earlier. In the first quarter of the year, overseas direct investment tumbled 23.4 percent on-year amid the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data also showed South Korea's net overseas direct investment surged 54.2 percent on-year to $12.67 billion in the third quarter.

By sector, the country's overseas investment in the manufacturing sector climbed 7.3 percent on-year to $3.65 billion, and that in the finance and insurance segment shot up 84.6 percent to $7.19 billion.

But local firms' investment in the retail and wholesale sector tumbled 32 percent to $470 million.

By country, South Korea's direct investment in the United States spiked 261 percent on-year to $6.94 billion, or 40.8 percent of the total, and that in Singapore soared 103.7 percent to $1.05 billion. (Yonhap)