China Foreign Investment Up By 45%

Foreign investment in China during the first half of the year rose 45% to $52.4 billion, Business Week reports.  That is well above the 18% increase reported for all of 2007.

Foreign investment financed the creation of 14,544 businesses in China in the first six months of the year, China’s Commerce Ministry said in just a one-sentence statement.  It gave no reason for the sharp increase in investment.

Foreign companies are looking to China’s fast-growing consumer market to help drive sales as demand elsewhere slumps.  A lot of money is being put into factories, as well as consumer oriented sectors, the article said.  The size of individual investments has grown as China’s companies build more factories for high-tech goods.