China FDI up 5.2% on M&A

BEIJING, Aug 19, (AFP): Foreign investment into China rose 5.2 percent in July compared to the previous year, large− ly on the back of mergers and acquisi− tions by overseas firms, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday.

Overall foreign direct investment (FDI), which excludes financial sectors, was $8.22 billion last month, the ministry said, and $76.63 billion in the first seven months of the year, a 7.9 percent increase.

ˆThe amount and the proportion of for− eign capital mergers and acquisitions rose sharply between January and July,˜ it said in a statement.

The proportion of M&A activity in FDI rose to 18.2 percent in the January−July peri− od, it added, up from 4.6 percent in the same seven months a year ago. China´s outbound overseas direct investment (ODI) last month was $7.5 billion, a sharp decline of 18.6 per− cent compared to a year earlier and the sec− ond consecutive monthly fall after one of 15.5 percent in June, the ministry said.

This photo taken on Aug 16, 2015 shows mangled cargo containers and twist− ed wreckage at the site of the explosions in Tianjin. With a swathe of one of the world´s busiest ports in ruins, more than a billion dollars in losses, and some major...