Foreign direct investment in China rises 19 %

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China rose about 19 percent on-year in the first seven months of the year due mainly to expectations of solid economic growth, a government report said Thursday. China received US$69.18 billion worth of reported FDI in the January-July period, up 18.6 percent from a year earlier, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on its Web site. The number of companies that overseas investors set up in China reached 15,600 in the same period, rising 7.89 percent on-year. Out of the total newly established foreign-invested firms, 12,555 companies were set up by investors from 10 Asian countries and territories -- South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia -- up 8.79 percent from a year ago. The United States reduced its FDI in China by 19.2 percent to $1.94 billion with 844 new firms set up, down 4.7 percent on-year. The investors made $59.54 billion in FDI, accounting for 86.1 percent of the total. The manufacturing industry saw the largest share of the FDI, with 46.5 percent or $32.17 billion, closely trailed by the service industry with $31.79 billion. Some 85.3 percent of the FDI, or $59 billion, flowed into the eastern part of China, while $5.16 billion and $5 billion were invested respectively in the western and central regions.