SHANGHAI - FOREIGN direct investment in China rose 39.9 per cent in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period last year, the government said on Friday.

Foreign companies invested 74.4 billion dollars (S$110 billion) in the country in the period from January to September, the commerce ministry said in a statement.

The growth rate for the period was slower than the 41.6 percent increase in the first eight months of the year.

The ministry did not provide a foreign direct investment figure for September alone.

Philippines FDI plunges 60%
Foreign direct investment is one of the factors driving the rapid growth of China's foreign exchange reserves, which topped 1.8 trillion dollars at the end of June.

In the Philippines, foreign direct investment in the Philippines plunged 60.2 per cent from a year earlier to 960 million dollars (S$1.4 billion) in the first seven months of the year, the central bank said on Friday.

July inflows shrank 69.2 per cent to 147 million dollars (S$217 million) in July alone, a central bank statement said.

'The ongoing financial crisis particularly in the major advanced economies continued to weigh down on investor sentiment,' said the central bank.

Shipbuilding, automotive and electronics, paper products, recreational services, mining and construction received the most investment, the bank said.

They came primarily from the United States, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Germany and Malaysia. -- AFP