China attracted $53.78 billion in foreign investment in the first 10 months of the year, an increase of 23.47% over the same period a year ago, official data showed Nov. 15.
Contracted foreign investment, a measure of future business, rose 34.19% to $119 billion compared with the same period a year ago, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
In the first nine months of the year, China drew $48.69 billion in foreign direct investment, up 21%.
"It shows the strong interest here. That pretty much tells me where China's FDI should be this year and next year -- very, very strong," Credit Suisse First Boston economist Dong Dong Tao said.
The ministry said it approved the establishment of 35,202 new foreign-funded enterprises between January and October.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2004
