China May FDI down 6.7%

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China fell 6.7 percent year-on-year to $8.6 billion in May, the government said Tuesday.
For the first five months of the year FDI -- which excludes investment in financial sectors -- was up 1.6 percent at $48.91 billion, the commerce ministry said in a statement.
In April, FDI was $8.7 billion.
"Investment from major countries and regions into China generally maintained a stable growth momentum," the ministry said.
China's top investors in the January-May period were Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Japan, the ministry said.
Investment from South Korea and Britain jumped 87.9 percent and 62.2 percent respectively in the five months, while that from Japan and the United States dropped 42.2 percent and 9.3 percent respectively, the ministry said, without providing values.
Investment from the European Union dropped 22.1 percent to $2.58 billion, with that from Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries falling 22.3 percent to $2.54 billion.
Foreign investment into China rebounded in 2013 to $117.59 billion, though slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy could suppress inflows this year.
China's economy expanded 7.7 percent in 2013, the same as 2012 -- the worst pace since 7.6 percent in 1999. China's official growth target for this year is 7.5 percent, also the same as last year's.
It grew 7.4 percent in the first three months of 2014, the worst pace since a similar 7.4 percent expansion in the third quarter of 2012.
The commerce ministry also announced that China's overseas investment in non-financial sectors in the first five months fell 10.2 percent year-onyear to $30.81 billion.
Investment to the United States rose 144 percent year-on-year to $2.03 billion, and that to the ASEAN countries increased 4.2 percent to $1.9 billion, it said.
China's investments into Hong Kong, the EU and Australia fell 32.6percent, 9.2 percent and 3.2 percent respectively, it said.
But investment into Russia and Japan leaped by 105.7 percent and 141.9 percent "due to low comparison bases last year", it said.
Beijing has encouraged Chinese companies to "go out" to seal supplies of crucial resources as well as make overseas acquisitions to gain market access and international experience.
China's total outstanding overseas investment in non-financial sectors as of the end of May stood at $556.5 billion, the ministry said.
Chinese outbound investment increased last year, hitting $90.17 billion, and officials said it could overtake FDI this year.