China experienced net capital inflows in January for the first time in more than three months, a possible signal of rebounding investor confidence, The Wall Street Journal reported. The People’s Bank of China and financial institutions purchased RMB140.9 billion (US$22.4 billion) of foreign exchange in January, up from a net sale of RMB100.3 billion in December. Central bank purchases and sales are seen as a proxy measure for capital flows into and out of China, because foreign currency entering the country is usually sold on to the PBoC. “The rebound in January indicates that foreign capital is returning to China,” said Li Wei, an economist at Standard Chartered. The country marked three consecutive months of net capital outflows in late 2011, thanks to waning confidence in emerging markets, as well as investors and companies arbitraging the gap between the onshore and offshore values of the yuan.