China's foreign direct investment (FDI) rose by 19.6 percent to US$51.43 billion in the first half of the year, a senior official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said here Thursday.

Liu Yajun, director of the MOC's Foreign Investment Administration Department, said at a press briefing that in June alone, China's FDI rose 39.6 percent year on year to US$12.51 billion.

That marked the 11th straight month that China has seen year on year growth in FDI.

The government approved the establishment of more than 12,400 overseas-funded ventures in the first six months of the year, an increase of 18.8 percent year-on-year, he said.

A total of 2,739 foreign companies were permitted to set up in China last month, up 8.3 percent from the same period last year, according to Liu.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2010)