China attracted $10.76 billion in FDI in January, up 16.1 per cent from a year earlier, the government said today, signalling that global investors are still confident in the world’s second-largest economy.
The services sector attracted more foreign investment than China’s dominant manufacturing sector, the Ministry of Commerce said.
The growth rate in January marked a surge from the 3.3 per cent increase in December.
FDI in the country’s service sector gained 57.02 per cent in January to reach $6.33 billion, or 58.8 per cent of the total, the ministry’s spokesman Shen Danyang said at a press conference.
In contrast, manufacturing sector inflows dropped 21.69 per cent to $3.47 billion.
China managed to get a healthy $117.59 billion FDI last year rebounding with an increase of 5.25 per cent year-on-year in 2013.
The growth came as a change from the 3.7 per cent decline registered in 2012, when China faced economic weakness in emerging markets and growth slowdown at home, worrying global investors.
FDI from 10 major Asian economies in January climbed 22.16 per cent to $9.55 billion, including a 37.69 per cent rise from Hong Kong, and a 197.92 per cent rise from the Republic of Korea.
The Ministry said FDI from the European Union fell 41.25 per cent but that from the US posted a solid gain of 34.9 per cent to reach $369 million.
With an inflow of $8.21 billion, the affluent east of China continues to grab the lion’s share of FDI.
However, today’s data showed the country’s central and western regions have become increasingly attractive for foreign investors, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
January’s inflows to the central region stood at $1.57 billion, up 89.07 per cent from a year earlier. The west bagged $989 million up 71.73 per cent.
China’s outbound direct investment by non-financial firms increased 47.2 per cent year-on-year in January to $7.23 billion the ministry said.