International Finance Centre (IFC),Victoria Harbor at Hong Kong on Sept 24,2010.[Photo/CFP]

HONG KONG -- For the first time, Hong Kong became the world's third largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in 2010, receiving a record high of $68.9 billion, announced the city government here on Wednesday, citing a UN report.

The all-time record inflows, up 31.5 percent from 2009, helped the city gain the third place, after ranking fourth in 2009, said Invest Hong Kong, a government department responsible for FDI and foreign business expansion in Hong Kong, citing figures from World Investment Report 2011, released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on Tuesday.

For the 13th consecutive year, Hong Kong continued to be the second largest FDI recipient in Asia, after the Chinese mainland, according to the report. In FDI stock, Hong Kong ranked the highest in Asia, enjoying a 30 percent share, or over $1 trillion in 2010.

"Hong Kong's status within the global economy is reflected in its record high ranking. With Hong Kong positioned at the heart of Asia and as the gateway to the mainland, it is clearly benefiting from the shift in economic interest to the East."

Last year, the global FDI inflows rose five percent from 2009, reaching $1.2 trillion, which suggested a modest improvement in the wake of the global financial crisis. Figures showed that developing and transitional economies attracted the lion's share of global FDI inflows.

According to the UNCTAD, inflows and outflows for developing Asian economies were expected to continue to grow. For developed economies, preliminary data for the first six months of this year suggested that FDI growth will gradually strengthen.