June 13 - China utilized US$42.78 billion in foreign direct investment in the first five months this year, an increase of 54.97 percent from the same period last year, the Ministry of Commerce said yesterday.

The growth was lower than a year-on-year growth rate of 59.32 percent used in the January-April period this year Xihhua reported. The number of newly-approved foreign-funded enterprises shrank 20.95 percent to 11,915 in the first five months of the year.

Utilized FDI in May jumped 37.94 percent from a year earlier to RMB7.76 billion while the number of newly-approved foreign-funded enterprises dropped 10.94 percent to 2,425.

According to Commerce Minister Chen Deming, the steadily-increasing FDI reflected foreign optimism on returns from the Chinese market. It also reflected and their intention to accelerate investment in the country to profit from the appreciating Chinese currency, he said.

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