China - Foreign investment in China falls again in March

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China fell in March for the fifth consecutive month, official figures showed Tuesday, as Europe struggled with its debt crisis and economic weakness.

Investment from overseas fell 6.1 per cent in March from a year earlier to $11.8 billion, the commerce ministry said.

In the first three months of the year, FDI reached $29.48 billion, down 2.8 per cent from the same period in 2011.

Investment from the European Union, which is grappling with a major sovereign debt crisis, tumbled 31.2 per cent on year to $1.4 billion in the January-March period.

Europe is China's key trading partner and its ongoing economic troubles have been hurting the Asian giant, which said Friday that its economy grew at its slowest pace in almost three years.

However, Tuesday's figures showed investment from the United States rose 10.1 per cent in the first quarter to reach $893 million, as the world's largest economy shows signs it is back on track.

"FDI has been slowing due to the global economic downturn," Sheng Danyang, commerce ministry spokesman, told reporters.

"I believe FDI will remain grim for the rest of the year".

AFP

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