There was no "special curb" to restrict foreign capital from entering China's real estate sector, said an official with the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.

Sun Peng, deputy director of the monistry's foreign investment management department said the ministry and other government departments attach importance to the problem of less foreign investment inflow in the first half, and is doing research on this issue.

China saw foreign direct investment dropped by 17.9 percent to US$43 billion in the first half from a year ago, amid the global economic downturn.

"If the economy warm up in the second half, the declining rate of foreign investment is expected to slow down," Sun said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2009)