April 7 – The increase in used foreign direct investment in China’s western regions exceeded the nation’s average by 128 percentage points in the first two months this year, said an official of the ministry of commerce on Sunday.

During the first two months, the western regions’ actual use of foreign investment was US$1.393 billion, more than double the same period of 2007. A total of 254 foreign companies were approved to invest in the region, said a ministry spokesperson at the ongoing 12th Investment and Trade Forum for Cooperation between East and West China.

Ji Xiaofeng,a ministry official in charge of foreign investment management attributed the increase to the nation’s encouraging policy for foreign investment to the middle and western regions. She said the ministry was advocating a transfer of foreign investment from the eastern regions to the western areas and encouraging local governments to use the investment in an innovative way. 

According to government statistics, a quarter of the nation’s tax revenue at present comes from foreign invested companies. By the end of February, there were 637,00 foreign invested companies nationwide, with the amount of used foreign investment reaching US$781.1 billion.

During the first two months of 2008, 4,372 foreign investors established themselves in China. Actual used foreign investment increased 75 percent to US$18.1 billion. (Xinhua)