(Agencies/chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-07-12 15:26

China, the fastest-growing major economy in the world, saw actual foreign direct investment (FDI) hit US$6.63 billion in June, an increase of 21.91 percent year on year, the Ministry of Commerce said.

In May, actual FDI reached US$4.90 billion, up 8.65 percent compared with the same period last year, the ministry said. FDI rose 12.2 percent in the first half of this year to US$31.89 billion from a year earlier.

Low manufacturing costs and a pool of 1.3 billion potential consumers have attracted many foreign firms to set up operations in China, the fourth-largest economy in the world. Statistics show that there were 18,683 new foreign-invested enterprises in the first six months of the year, down 5.4 percent from a year earlier, with 3,611 such enterprises established in June, a decrease of 11.73 percent.

Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands, and South Korea were the top three sources of FDI in the first half, the ministry said.

Overseas-funded factories accounted for more than 50 percent of the surging exports that pushed up the nation's trade surplus in June to a monthly record of US$26.9 billion. The surplus soared to US$112.5 billion in the first half of this year, up 84 percent from a year earlier.

Investment inflows have made China the world's biggest producer of cell phones, computers and clothes. China was the world's fourth-largest recipient of foreign investment this year, according to the United Nations. Spending by overseas companies rose 4.5 percent from a year earlier to US$63 billion.

FDI growth has a huge potential in China and an increasing number of foreign companies will establish a presence here as the country tries to boost domestic demand, experts said.