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Used FDI down 21% in first four months in China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-15 15:26

China's Ministry of Commerce said in Beijing Friday that the used amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country fell 21 percent year on year in the first four months this year.

The figure shrank to $27.67 billion, said ministry spokesperson Yao Jian.

Related readings:  FDI decline 'not cause for concern'  FDI norms look set to be tweaked  FDI decline slows in March  FDI drops 15%, declines forecast for next few months

In April alone, the investment dropped 22.5 percent to $5.89 billion, the seventh straight monthly fall, said Yao.

The scale of decline narrowed from 32.7 percent in January to 9.5 percent in March.

The number of new foreign-funded ventures also saw a 34.2-percent decline to 6,241 in the first four months, as companies became more prudent about expanding.

As the influence of the global financial crisis rippled from the financial sector to the real economy, foreign investment had been severely affected, said Yao.

The government would take more effective measures to encourage foreign investment, such as streamlining approval procedures, and encouraging and supporting foreign businesses to invest in industrial upgrading and structural adjustment, said Yao.

The drop in foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sector was a mild 12.9 percent, compared with a 31-percent slide in the service sector, said Yao.