China's used FDI down 17.9% in H1

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-30 14:36

China's used foreign direct investment (FDI) dropped 17.9 percent year-on-year to $43.01 billion in the first half of the year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced at a press conference today.

The decline was mainly driven by an investment plunge in the financial sector, which shrunk 48.3 percent year-on-year, or $1.56 billion, according to the ministry.

China's central and western regions experienced a sharp decline in FDI in the first half, and these regions absorbed about 20 percent of the country’s total FDI.

Meanwhile, the country's east region, which attracted 80 percent of the total FDI, saw the FDI drop in a slower fashion during the same period.

Among the country's major FDI sources, investment from six regions and countries gave out double-digit declines in the first half, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, the US, South Korea and the UK.

But investment from the Netherlands, France, and Germany increased by 34 percent, 8.8 percent and 1.3 percent respectively year-on-year.

The MOC also pointed out foreign merger and acquisition cases approved in the first half fell 25.9 percent from the same period last year.

"It's hard to judge to what extent foreign investment would be used in the second half," said Sun Peng, deputy chief of the MOC's Department of Foreign Investment Administration. "It would be difficult for China's FDI to increase if the global financial woes continue."

But Sun said the government is studying possible ways to spur foreign investment, which may be made public at a later time.