Fall in 2005 FDI

China's FDI fell 2.1% in the first nine months of the year to US$43.3 million, whilst contracted investment rose 22% to US$130.3 billion, according to official statistics released Friday. A 2004 UN report rated China's total FDI as second only to the US. Despite the slight dip in FDI in 2005, fixed-asset investment increased 27.4% in the first eight months of the year, and international banks and investment funds agreed the purchase of more than US$ 10 billion of stakes in Chinese in Chinese lenders such as Bank of China and China Construction Bank, the International Herald Tribune reported.