Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China dropped for the fifth consecutive month in October, falling by 30 percent year-on-year to just US$3.36 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
FDI stood at US$43.56 billion for the first 10 months. That marked a 5.81 year-on-year increase, a significant drop from the 11.85 percent growth rate for the first nine months.
Chinese officials blamed the aftermath of SARS for the decline and said they were very optimistic considering contractual FDI in September rose by more than 90 percent year-on-year to US$11.68 billion. The total contractual FDI for the first 10 months was RMB 88.68 billion – a 33.75 percent year-on-year increase for the period with contracted foreign investment reaching almost US$9.5 billion in October alone, according to the ministry.