China's FDI inflow rises 1.24 pct in October

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland rose 1.24 percent in October from a year ago to 8.42 billion U.S. dollars, an increase for nine consecutive months, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Tuesday.

The rate of growth slowed from the 4.88 percent rise in September.

From January to October, the country's FDI inflow stood at 97.03 billion U.S. dollars, up 5.77 percent from the same period last year.

The ministry data showed FDI from the European Union surged 22.26 percent from a year earlier to 6.4 billion U.S. dollars in the first ten months, while investment from the United States climbed 12.41 percent to 3.04 billion U.S. dollars.

FDI from Japan gained 6.31 percent year on year in the January-October period, while that from 10 other Asian countries and regions was up 7.18 percent.

FDI into the country's service sector gained 13.93 percent year on year to 49.81 billion U.S. dollars in the first ten months. In contrast, the manufacturing sector attracted 38.29 billion U.S. dollars of FDI, down 5.25 percent from a year ago.

In the first ten months, Chinese investment in overseas non-financial sectors increased 20 percent year on year to 69.5 billion U.S. dollars, the ministry said.

Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said the country's foreign investment policy will remain stable and transparent as it pushes ahead with its reform agenda.

Shen said the country will grant foreign investors broader access to manufacturing industries such as steel, chemicals and auto production, easing restrictions on registered capital requirement, stock ownership and business scope of overseas investment.

The country will also gradually open up its service sectors to foreign investment, including finance, education, culture and health care, Shen said.