China's FDI inflow reaches CN¥412.5 billion in first five months

BEIJING (WAM)

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Chinese mainland, in actual use, totalled CN¥412.5 billion (approximately $57.94 billion) in the first five months of 2024, data from the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China showed on Friday.

Xinhua News Agency quoted the ministry as saying that the amount was 28.2 percent lower than that of the same period last year.

Data showed that despite the decline, 21,764 new foreign-invested firms were established across China in the reporting period, an increase of 17.4 percent.

"The scale of foreign investment in actual use is still at a historically high level," according to a ministry official, who attributed the decline mainly to a high comparison base last year.

The manufacturing sector attracted 28.4 percent, or ¥117.1 billion, of the total FDI inflow, up 2.8 percentage points from the same period last year and indicating continued improvement in investment structure.

FDI inflows into smart consumer equipment manufacturing and professional technical services increased 332.9 percent and 103.1 percent year-on-year, respectively.