Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China surged by almost 50
percent to US$3.59 billion in the first month of this year.
Analysts said yesterday they expect FDI in the country to continue
to grow this year despite a weak global economy.
Contracted foreign investment, an indicator of future trends,
jumped 65.34 percent year-on-year in January to US$9.24 billion,
the Ministry of
Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation said in a statement
yesterday.
China attracted a record of US$52.7 billion in foreign direct
investment last year as more foreign businesses tapped its
potentially vast market.
A
total of 3,349 new foreign-funded enterprises were approved last
month, up 33.69 percent year-on-year, the ministry said. By
January, China had approved the establishment of 427,545
foreign-funded enterprises with a contracted foreign investment of
US$837.3 billion and actual foreign investment of US$451.6 billion,
according to the ministry.
Sun Xiaohua, a senior expert on foreign investment with the Chinese
Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, the
think-tank of the foreign trade ministry, identified the
development of China's western regions and multinationals' mergers
and acquisitions as the new drivers in FDI flow this year.
Sun said the government's decision to encourage foreign investment
in the restructure of state-owned enterprises will also provide
more opportunities for FDI.
Zhang Feng, an expert from the State Information Center, forecast
that the FDI growth rate would reach around 10 percent this year.
More offshore capital will flow into fields such as banking,
tourism, commerce, hospitals and education as China gradually lifts
its restrictions on foreign investment, Zhang said.
(China Daily February 18, 2003)