FDI revives, rises for second month in mainland China
High-end manufacturing and services sectors a big draw as Europe and US boost investment
Foreign direct investment in mainland China rose for a second month in March, driven by greater inflows from Europe and the United States.
Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang said foreign investments had been steady, adding that the high-end manufacturing and services sectors had seen rapid fund inflows.
Investments in March rose 5.65 per cent from a year earlier to US$12.4 billion. That contributed to a year-on-year rise of 1.44 per cent in investments for the first quarter, ministry data showed.
Foreign investments declined in 11 months last year.
The number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises, however, fell nearly 20 per cent in March and 10.4 per cent in the first quarter.
President Xi Jinping met leaders of multinationals including PepsiCo and Toyota Motor at the Boao Forum this month, reassuring them China would maintain sound growth and protect their rights and business interests.
But Giordano Lombardo, the global chief investment officer of Pioneer Investments, said at a forum in Beijing: "Some of the Asian countries [such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand] can benefit from lower costs and re-inshoring of industrial activities as China loses cost-competitiveness."