China's May FDI falls 1% from a year ago to $8.89 bn

China's foreign direct investment (FDI) fell one per cent in May from a year earlier to 56.77 billion yuan, or $8.89 billion, the Commerce Ministry said on Sunday. This is the first year-on-year decline since December, when FDI dropped 5.8 per cent from the year ago month.

FDI rose 3.8 per cent in January-May from a year earlier to 343.55 billion yuan, or $54.19 billion, the ministry said in a statement. Earlier data showed FDI gained 6 per cent in April from a year earlier, following a rise of 7.8 per cent in March.

The ministry has started releasing yuan-denominated FDI since early 2015, along with equivalent dollar figures based on its own conversion. Foreign investment in the services sector rose 7 per cent in January-May to 241.8 billion yuan, or $38.2 billion, accounting for 70.4 per cent of all FDI, said the ministry, with investment in high-tech services jumping 94.7 per cent year-on-year.

Investment in the manufacturing sector fell 3.2 per cent in January-May to 98.9 billion yuan, or $15.5 billion, making up 28.8 per cent of the total FDI, the ministry said.

FDI from the United States soared 140.2 per cent in January-May from a year earlier while investment from Britain rose 110 per cent, the ministry said.