China's FDI inflow declines but less sharply

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China dropped 0.24 percent year on year in October to 8.31 billion U.S. dollars, according to figures released by the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday.

The drop was less sharp compared to September, when FDI into China dropped 6.8 percent year on year to 8.43 billion U.S. dollars.

Nevertheless, this is the fifth consecutive monthly drop in the country's FDI inflow. The figure brought the total FDI inflow for the first 10 months of 2012 to 91.74 billion U.S. dollars, down 3.45 percent year on year, said ministry spokesman Shen Danyang.

In the first 10 months, investment from the United States reversed a trend of decline and rose 5.3 percent year on year to 2.7 billion U.S. dollars. Investment from Japan surged 10.9 percent from a year earlier to 6.08 billion U.S. dollars, Shen said.

Investment from the EU dropped 5 percent year on year to 5.24 billion U.S. dollars.

The fall was smaller compared to the first nine months. Investment from the EU dropped 6.3 percent year on year to 4.83 billion U.S. dollars from January to September.