Seoul, Feb 12 (IANS): South Korean companies and individuals invested overseas in 2015 topped $40 billion, rebounding for the first time in four years, a government report showed on Friday.

Overseas direct investment by local players reached $40 billion in 2015, up 15 percent from the previous year's $35 billion, according to the ministry of strategy and finance.

After peaking at $45 billion in 2011, the overseas investment kept falling to $39 billion dollars in 2012, $35 billion in 2013 and $35 billion in 2014. It made the first rebound last year in four years, Xinhua news agency reported.

Finance and insurance sector led the rebound with $11 billion of overseas investment. It was followed by the manufacturing industry with $9 billion

The finance and insurance sector's investment surged 65.5 percent, with those for the manufacturing and mining industries rising 7.6 percent and 19.3 percent each in 2015 compared with the previous year.

South Korean companies invested the largest amount of $10 billion into the US in 2015, up 13 percent from a year earlier. It was trailed by China with $4 billion, up 14.4 percent from a year ago.