China’s foreign direct investment growth rises 6.7 pct in March

China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) rose 6.7 percent year-on-year in March to reach 87.8 billion yuan (US$12.8 billion), the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. The rise in March was slower compared to growth rate of 9.2 percent recorded in February.

Total FDI in the first quarter of the year edged up 1 percent year on year to 226.5 billion yuan, the ministry said.  China's mainland added 6,383 new foreign-funded enterprises during the same period.

Service sector attracted majority of the investment which saw FDI expansion of 7.1 percent year-on-year in Q1. Investment in utility services soared 165.6 percent year-on-year, while high-tech services lured 28.7 billion yuan of investment, up 12.4 percent from a year earlier.

Investment from the European Union edged higher by 11.2 percent in Q1, the data showed. During 2016, China drew US$126 billion of FDI, the largest recipient among developing countries, data showed.

China Securities Times reported Chinese finance ministry as saying Q1 fiscal revenue growth was up +14.1 percent y/y to CNY 4.44 tln. The ministry said that Q1 fiscal revenue was boosted by short-term factors and it is likely that we will see significant drop in Q2.