Actual foreign direct investment (FDI) in China in January 2009 fell 32.6 percent from a year earlier to US$7.54 billion, the Ministry of Commerce said.

The number of foreign-funded enterprises approved also dropped 48.7 percent to 1,496.

At a press conference this morning, Yao Jian, a spokesman for the ministry, attributed the decline to the high base a year before and the disruption caused by the Spring Festival holidays.

Noting that the latest FDI figure was close to the monthly average of US$7.7 billion in 2008, Yao said that more opportunities for foreign investment are expected in coming months with the national macro economic policy in place.

(China Daily February 16, 2009)