FDI inflows into China continue to decline

Facing economic slow down after decades of high growth, China continued to face a decline in foreign direct investment which dropped for the fourth consecutive month in September, China's Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.

Foreign investment declined by 6.8 per cent year-on-year to $8.43 billion in September, ministry spokesman Shen Danyang told the media in Beijing.

The figure brought the total foreign direct investment inflow for the first nine months of the year to $83.42 billion down 3.8 per cent year-on-year, Shen said.

"Although the FDI inflow saw slight declines, there has not been any substantial declines," he said.

Investment from developed economies, including the European Union, the US and Japan saw both rises and drops, but the drops narrowed in general, Shen said.

In the first nine months, investment from the US dropped 0.63 per cent year-on-year to $2.37 billion which was less than a 2.9 per cent drop in the January-August period.

Investment from the European Union dropped 6.3 per cent year-on-year to $4.83 billion during the period while those from Japan surged 17 per cent from a year earlier to $5.62

billion, he said.

"Based on our talks with large foreign enterprises investing in China, they still have full confidence in the country's long-term development," Shen said.

The country approved the establishment of 18,025 new foreign-funded companies in the first nine months, down 11.7 per cent from a year ago, Shen said.

Overseas direct investment made by China in non-financial sectors around the world surged 28.9 per cent to $52.52 billion in the first nine months.

Shen attributed the strong growth in ODI to the country's drive to encourage domestic companies to invest overseas.

Also, other countries around the world are looking to attract investment as they pursue a recovery in the economy.

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics the economy has slowed for the seventh straight quarter, growing 7.4 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2012.

The figure was lower than the 7.6 per cent growth seen in the second quarter and the first quarter's 8.1 per cent growth.

However, it was still in line with economists' predictions that third-quarter economic output would grow between 7.4 and 7.5 per cent.