China’s FDI inflow rises 4.2 percent in first 10 months

By Wang Ke from People’s Daily

 

China continued to attract an increasing amount of foreign investment in the first ten months this year, particularly in high-end industrial chains like the high-tech and service sectors, according to the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.

 

Official data showed that foreign direct investment (FDI) into China rose 4.2 percent year-on-year to reach 666.3 billion yuan ($98 billion) from January to October. The statistics did not cover the banking, securities or insurance industries.

 

FDI in the service sector amounts to 471.25 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.1 percent. Communication, computer, transportation and electronics equipments contributed to investment flowing into the manufacturing industry.

 

During the period, 22,580 foreign-invested companies were established, increasing 7.4 percent compared with the same period last year. The number of newly-established foreign companies with investment of over $100 million totaled nearly 600.

 

About 370 overseas companies increased over $100 million based on their previous investments, according to the data. Most of those big investors are from emerging and high-tech industries.

 

In the past ten months, China’s industry structure was further optimized as western regions saw increasing foreign investment while eastern regions maintained a steady growth. FDI in China’s western regions jumped 29.8 percent year-on-year to 49.27 billion yuan during the period, while the more developed eastern areas attracted 582.82 billion yuan in investment, up 6.9 percent compared with the same period last year.