| Economy, consumers boost faster FDI rise |
SHANGHAI, July 13 -- CHINA'S foreign direct investment expanded at a faster pace last month, backed by robust economic growth and a booming consumer market.
The FDI totalled US$31.89 billion in the first half of this year, a jump of 12.17 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Commerce said yesterday. The growth accelerated from the 9.87-percent climb in the first five months. For June alone, FDI jumped 21.91 percent to US$6.63 billion.
"Overseas investors remain optimistic over the strong economic growth and the low manufacturing and labor costs in China," said Feng Yuming, an analyst at Orient Securities Co.
"The booming situation enjoyed by overseas-invested factories pushed up China's processing exports and sent the trade surplus to record highs from time to time."
China's trade surplus soared to a record US$26.9 billion last month with exports jumping 27.1 percent from a year earlier to US$103.27 billion. The surplus in the first half hit US$112.5 billion, compared with US$177.5 billion for last year.
There is still potential for FDI to expand as China remains attractive to overseas companies with a booming domestic demand, analysts said.
South Korea-based LG Group has signed a deal to invest 50 million yuan (US$6.61 million) to build its first cell phone factory in west China.
The plant, located in western Chongqing Municipality, will make spare parts of cell phones, according to the Ministry of Commerce. The first-phase investment will be 50 million yuan and LG expects the plant to generate sales of up to 100 million yuan a year in terms of spare parts.
Nestle Group last week also opened a 200-million-yuan factory in Hulun Buir in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to make milk powder from fresh milk collected from more than 4,300 farmers across a 10,000-square-kilometer area of high-quality grasslands, company officials said.
The plant, Nestle's third in the mainland, will also supply other products, including ice cream and confections, exclusively for the Chinese market.
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