China receives US $ 63.33 billion FDI in first half of 2014

BEIJING: China received US $ 63.33 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the first six months of 2014, a 2.2 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. More foreign investment made its way to the service sector ahead of manufacturing for which the country was famous for.

FDI into China reversed the decline seen in May, edging up 0.2 per cent year-on-year to US $ 14.42 billion in June, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday. In the first six months, the FDI, which excludes investment in the financial sector, stood at US $ 63. 33 billion up 2.2 per cent from the same period last year, the ministry said.

In January-June, the FDI in the service sector climbed 14.8 per cent year-on-year to US $ 35.2 billion, accounting for 56 per cent of the total FDI; and that in the manufacturing sector dropped 13.9 per cent to US $22.8 billion or 36 per cent of the total.

Investment from the Republic of Korea and the UK remained robust in the first six months, up 45.6 per cent and 76.4 per cent year-on-year, respectively. But FDI from Japan slumped 48.8 per cent year-on-year and FDI from the United States went down 4.6 per cent year-on-year, state run Xinhua news agency reported.

At the same time, China's outbound direct investment by non-financial firms dropped 5 per cent to US $43.34 billion in the first half of the year, the ministry said. China's last year outbound direct investment went up to about US $100 billion as it stepped up overseas investments in recent years.