China attracted 12 per cent more foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first six months 2004 as companies sought to tap booming demand in the world's fastest-growing major economy, the Ministry of Commerce said. Investment rose to US$34 billion in the half after gaining 7.5 per cent in the first quarter from the year-earlier period.
China overtook the US last year as the world's biggest recipient of FDI, drawing US$53 billion, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Rising investment by foreign companies is fuelling an export boom that is stoking growth in the world's seventh-largest economy. Last year's FDI total was larger than the US$40 billion attracted by the US and US$6.47 billion that was invested in South Korea.
Contracted investment, a sign of future investment, rose by 43 per cent to US$73 billion, the ministry said.
Source: Bloomberg News
