FDI rises as accession to trade body nears
( 2001-09-14 09:37 ) (1 )

China made use of US$27.4 billion in foreign direct investment from January to August, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTEC) announced.

This signified a 20.4 per cent year-on-year increase a strong rebound from the 0.9 per cent rise of last year and the decrease in 1999 year-on-year figures.

Analysts said foreign capital was attracted to the country by the robust Chinese economy against the world's gloomy economic outlook.

The Chinese economy is projected still able to grow as much as 7 to 8 per cent in 2001 despite a heavy blow to its export volume by slackened external demand.

China's pending entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is expected to render Chinese policies more transparent, stable and predictable, helped build up foreign investors' confidence in the market, analysts said.

(By Zi Yan)