Foreign investment in China weakened in August

[September 15, 2010]  BEIJING (AP) -- Foreign investment in China weakened again in August after rebounding from a slowdown earlier this year, the government reported Wednesday.

Foreign direct investment rose 1.4 percent over a year earlier to $7.6 billion, Commerce Ministry spokesman Yao Jian said at a news conference. That was down from July's robust 29.2 percent.

FDI includes spending on factories, real estate and other assets but excludes investment in stocks and other financial instruments.

China is one of the world's top investment destinations but spending plunged due to the global financial crisis. Growth fell to 1.1 percent in February before rebounding to double-digit levels.

For the eight-month period from January to August, FDI rose 18.1 percent over the same period last year to $66 billion, according to Yao.

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Chinese Ministry of Commerce (in Chinese): http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/

[Associated Press]

AP researcher Bonnie Cao contributed.

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