New | Foreign investment into China picks up after slump amid antitrust probes
The mainland received US$9.01 billion in foreign direct investment last month, up 1.9 per cent from a year earlier
Foreign direct investment into mainland China last month reversed an earlier slump, after a string of anti-monopoly investigations sparked complaints from multinational companies about a worsening business environment.
The mainland received US$9.01 billion in foreign direct investment last month, up 1.9 per cent from a year earlier, reversing a 14 per cent slump in August and a 17 per cent drop in July.
In the first nine months, FDI declined 1.4 per cent from a year earlier to US$87.4 billion, the Ministry of Commerce said.
Monthly FDI figures tend to be volatile, analysts say, as they can be amplified by major one-off deals.
Chinese officials have cited rising labour costs for the declining manufacturing competitiveness in the market compared with other emerging nations such as Vietnam and Brazil.
Inflows from South Korea and Britain jumped more than 30 per cent in the January-September period from a year earlier. In contrast, investment from Japan sank 43 per cent while that from the United States dropped 24.7 per cent. The European Union’s investment into the mainland also declined, by 18.8 per cent.
Foreign companies said they felt unfairly targeted in the mainland’s recent antitrust probes, although Beijing has defended its policy and pledged to open the market further for private investment.
The official People’s Daily last week ran full-page reports accusing multinationals of exploiting China through tax avoidance.
