1st LD-Writethru: China reports increase in foreign direct investment

BEIJING, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland rose 9.8 percent year on year to reach 803.62 billion yuan (around 122 billion U.S. dollars) in the first 11 months, data showed Thursday.

The FDI growth was much faster than the 1.9-percent year-on-year increase registered in the first 10 months, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

In November alone, FDI hit 124.92 billion yuan, up 90.7 percent year on year, MOC spokesperson Gao Feng said at a regular press conference.

The growth rate was dramatically higher compared with October, when the country's FDI rose 5 percent year on year, according to the MOC.

FDI in the service sector posted strong growth while the manufacturing industry continued to rise.

In the first 11 months, FDI in the service sector climbed 13.5 percent year on year to 582.75 billion yuan, or 72.5 percent of the total.

Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector attracted FDI worth 207.76 billion yuan, up 0.2 percent year on year, accounting for 25.9 percent of the total FDI.

Some 60.15 billion yuan flowed into the high-tech manufacturing sector, an increase of 9.9 percent year on year.

The high-tech service industry actually used 177.1 billion yuan in FDI, more than double the amount from the same period last year.

FDI into central China registered rapid growth in the first 11 months with total volume up 29 percent year on year to 52.09 billion yuan.

Analysts attributed the fast FDI growth to the fast increase of new foreign-funded companies as well as effective policy, which has boosted the confidence of foreign investors, and capital injection for some big projects.

The number of new foreign-funded companies surged 161.5 percent to 4,641 in November, resulting in a 26.5-percent year-on-year increase in the number of new foreign-funded companies to hit 30,815 in the first 11 months, according to Gao. Enditem