China March FDI expands 8%

Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland expanded 8 percent year on year to reach 95.17 billion yuan (about US$14.2 billion) in March, the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.

During the first quarter, FDI inflow rose 6.5 percent from one year earlier to 242.28 billion yuan, the MOC said in a statement.

In dollar terms, FDI inflow grew 3.7 percent year on year to US$35.8 billion during the three-month period.

The number of new overseas-funded companies established between January and March reached 9,616, MOC data showed.

Investment in high-tech industries rose 50.6 percent year on year and accounted for 27.5 percent of the total FDI, with the high-tech manufacturing sector attracting 25.97 billion yuan in overseas investment, up 14.8 percent.

China's pilot free trade zones saw FDI inflow up 10.5 percent year on year during the first quarter, accounting for 10.3 percent of the total FDI.

MOC data showed that FDI from Germany surged the most at a rate of 86.1 percent from one year earlier, while that from Republic of Korea and the Netherlands jumped 79.6 percent and 74.2 percent, respectively.