(Bloomberg) — New foreign direct investment into China fell last year to the lowest level in the three years, as companies in Hong Kong and overseas became less willing to put new money into the mainland.
New actually utilized foreign investment in 2023 was 1.1 trillion yuan ($153 billion), according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce on Friday. That was 8% lower than in 2022, which was the highest on record in comparable data going back to 2014.
The ministry declared last year to be “the year of investing in China.” But the slowing economy and falling financial markets, a weak rebound from Covid, a series of investigations on foreign firms, and the arrest of a Japanese executive all combined to dampen companies’ willingness to put more money into the country.
The ministry came out with 24 specific reforms to encourage more investment, but few actions have been taken so far.
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