Foreign direct investment in China rose 17.4% in 2010 to $105.7 billion, the government said today, despite efforts by authorities to cool the booming economy and stem a flood of liquidity.
Announcing the year-on-year figure, commerce ministry spokesman Yao Jian said that China attracted $14.03 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) last month, up 15.6% from a year earlier.
'The improvement in the investment environment has become a new driving force of China's FDI,' Yao said.
A combination of blistering growth in the world's second largest economy and expectations for a stronger currency have attracted a growing number of foreign investors to China in the hope of getting a better return on their money.
The data were released ahead of key figures due later this week that are expected to show the Chinese economy expanded by a red-hot 10% in 2010.
Beijing, alarmed by soaring food and property prices, has been trying to reduce the volume of money flowing into the economy as inflation continues to soar - in November, it rose at the fastest pace in two years.
FDI had slowed sharply in August, rising just 1.4% year on year compared with 29.2% in July and 39.6% in June. But in September it picked up again, increasing 6.1% year on year, while in October it rose 7.9% and then leapt 38.2% in November.
The data include investment by overseas companies in industries such as manufacturing, property, services and agriculture but exclude money put into banks and other financial institutions.
China's investment abroad in non-financial sectors rose 36.3% on year to $59 billion in 2010 as it pumped more money into overseas energy, mining and agricultural projects. Overseas investment through mergers and acquisitions totalled $23.8 billion, accounting for 40.3% of the total.
