Investment from the Asian bloc, ASEAN, European Union, Hong Kong, and Macao continued to grow fast, while that from Japan, the United States and Taiwan dropped significantly [Xinhua]
Investment from the Asian bloc, ASEAN, European Union, Hong Kong, and Macao continued to grow fast, while that from Japan, the United States and Taiwan dropped significantly [Xinhua]

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland rose 4.2 per cent year on year to $8.77 billion in October, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

The growth slowed from a 7.1-per cent rise in September.

Investment from the Asian bloc, ASEAN, European Union, Hong Kong, and Macao continued to grow fast, while that from Japan, the United States and Taiwan dropped significantly.

For the first 10 months, FDI, which excludes investment in the financial sector, stood at $103.7 billion, up 8.6 per cent from the same period last year.

Foreign investment in the service industry rose 19.4 per cent, with the high-tech service sector seeing a jump of 57.5 per cent to $6.76 billion.

High-tech manufacturing attracted $7.58 billion of foreign investment during the January-October period, up 11.6 per cent and accounting for 23.3 per cent of total foreign investment in manufacturing.

The ministry also noted that more foreign firms invested in China through mergers and acquisitions, which accounted for 15.4 per cent of the total FDI in January-October, up from 6 per cent in the same period last year.

Foreign investment projects take time to conceive and implement, making FDI a lagging indicator of general confidence, but they have remained strong in recent months nevertheless.

Last year, China drew a record $119.6 billion of FDI, while outbound investment rose 14.1 percent to a new high of $102.9 billion.