Foreign investment in China hits record in 2010

BEIJING (AFP) - Foreign direct investment in China hit a record $105.7 billion last year, the government said Tuesday, highlighting growing confidence in the economy even as Beijing seeks to rein in growth.

Investment by overseas companies rose 17.4 percent year-on-year, with more than a fifth of the money flowing into the red-hot property sector, commerce ministry spokesman Yao Jian told a regular briefing.

China attracted $14.03 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in December alone, up 15.6 percent from a year earlier, Yao added.

“The improvement in the investment environment has become a new driving force of China’s FDI,” Yao told reporters.

Blistering growth in the world’s second-largest economy and expectations for a stronger currency have attracted a growing number of foreign investors to China, hoping to get a better return on their money, analysts said.