China attracts $86.68 bn in FDI in first 9 months of 2011

BEIJING: China continues to be the world's favourite destination for Foreign Direct Investment ( FDI), attracting $86.68 billion in the first nine months of the year, a 16.6 per cent year-on-year increase despite decreasing inflows from the US and EU.

In September alone, the country drew $9.05 billion of actual FDI, up 7.88 per cent vis-a-vis the year-ago period, Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang told a media briefing here today.

The September figure indicated a continuous decline in FDI growth, slowing from 11.1 per cent in August and 19.83 per cent in July.

FDI from the United States declined by 9.88 per cent year-on-year to $1.88 billion in the January-September period, while inflows from the European Union were down 1.8 per cent vis-a-vis the year-ago period, Shen said.

He said the country approved the establishment of 20,400 overseas-funded companies in the first nine months, a year-on-year increase of 6.24 per cent.

The country's outbound direct investments, excluding the financial sector, rose by 12.5 per cent year-on-year to USD 40.75 billion in the first three quarters, he said.