FDI slide continues in October

China's actualized foreign direct investment (FDI) fell for a fourth month in a row in October compared to a year earlier, although the rate of decline eased to its lowest this year, according to figures released Tuesday by China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).

FDI into China dropped by 0.24 percent in October from the previous year to $8.31 billion, not including foreign investment in the banking, securities and insurance sectors, MOFCOM spokesman Shen Danyang announced Tuesday at a news conference in Beijing.

This compares to a year-on-year drop of 6.81 percent in September's FDI reading.

The country's foreign investment inflows have maintained a downward spiral this year amid a continued slowdown seen in the economy, except for May when FDI rose by 0.05 percent over a year earlier to $9.23 billion.

During the first 10 months of the year, the country's actualized FDI was down 3.45 percent year-on-year to $91.74 billion, according to Shen. However, "the current (negative growth) indicates a period of transition, and (the actualized FDI) will resume its growth momentum in the future," said Shen.

FDI from the 27 member countries of the European Union fell by 5 percent from January to October, but the FDI from countries including the US, Japan, Singapore and South Korea saw positive growth during the same period, according to MOFCOM.

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