Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China dropped slightly in the
first five months of the year, but within a reasonable
fluctuation.
China attracted US$22.4 billion of FDI over the period, a 0.79
percent decrease from the previous year, according to statistics
published by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).
Contracted direct investment to China, which indicates the
future trend of FDI flow, rose nearly 15 percent over last year to
US$65 billion.
The ministry said China approved 16,437 new foreign-invested
ventures between January and May, down 4.75 percent from last
year.
Based on official information, the country realized FDI of
US$4.89 billion in May, a comparatively large decrease of some 22
percent over last year.
Although all the figures for the period show a declining or
slowing growth rate, experts said average investment per project
was increasing.
"I would like to attribute the slowdown to the large amount of
FDI last year," said Lu Jinyong, an investment researcher with the
University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in
Beijing.
In 2004, China, one of the fastest-growing economies in the
world, attracted actual FDI of more than US$60.6 billion, up 13
percent from the previous year.
"It is really difficult for China to maintain a high growth rate
after such a high starting point," Lu said.
(China Daily June 13, 2005)