China records first FDI drop in months

BEIJING - Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland slipped 5.8 percent year on year in December of 2015, its first yearly drop since August 2014, data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) showed on Wednesday.

FDI in December reached 77.02 billion yuan ($12.23 billion), MOC spokesperson Shen Danyang told a press conference.

He attributed the decline to a higher base in the same month of 2014 as well as changing currency trends and market conditions, without elaborating.

The Chinese currency, yuan, has been heading south since China's central bank revamped the foreign exchange mechanism in August 2015, saying it was making the rate more market-based.

The weakening yuan was influenced by the start of a new rate-hike cycle in the United States and a slower Chinese economy.

Despite the FDI decline in December, Shen said the total FDI for the whole year of 2015 rose 6.4 percent from 2014 to $126.27 billion.

China's FDI growth saw ups and downs in the first 11 months of 2015. It accelerated to 22 percent in August before winding down to 1.9 percent in November.

In December, more than 2,000 foreign-funded enterprises were newly established in the mainland, up 17.9 percent year on year, according to Shen.

Last year, FDI from the ASEAN, European Union, nations along the Belt and Road route, Hong Kong and Macao increased, while that from Japan, the United States and Taiwan fell, he said.