Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland surged 90.7% year-on-year to hit nearly CNY125 billion in November. The number of new foreign-funded companies surged 161.5% to 4,641 in November, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). The growth rate was dramatically higher compared with October, when the country’s FDI rose 5% year-on-year.

In the first 11 months, FDI rose 9.8% year-on-year to reach CNY803.62 billion, Ministry Spokesman Gao Feng said. The FDI growth was much faster than the 1.9% year-on-year increase registered in the first 10 months, according to Gao. FDI in the service sector posted strong growth of 13.5% year-on-year to CNY582.75 billion. The manufacturing sector attracted FDI worth CNY207.76 billion, up 0.2% year-on-year, accounting for 25.9% of the total FDI. Some CNY60.15 billion flowed into the high-tech manufacturing sector, an increase of 9.9% from a year earlier. The high-tech service sector actually used CNY177.1 billion in FDI, more than double the amount for the same period of last year. FDI into central China registered rapid growth in the first 11 months, with the total volume up 29% year-on-year to CNY52.09 billion.

Analysts attributed the fast FDI growth to the fast increase of new foreign-funded companies as well as effective policy that has boosted the confidence of foreign investors, and capital injection for some big projects. The number of new foreign-funded companies hit 30,815 in the first 11 months, up 26.5% year-on-year.

Outbound direct investment (ODI) from January to November fell 33.5% year-on-year as authorities curbed irrational investment overseas. Domestic investors spent a total of US$107.55 billion on 5,796 enterprises from 174 countries and regions during the period. Chinese authorities have set stricter rules and advised companies to make investment decisions more carefully since last year, the Shanghai Daily reports.