March 14, 2007	Wednesday	Safar 24, 1428

BEIJING, March 13: Foreign direct investment into China in the first two months of the year totalled $9.7 billion, a rise of 13 per cent from the same period a year earlier, the government said on Tuesday. Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands — where many Chinese companies register for tax purposes — and Japan were the top three sources of foreign direct investment, the commerce ministry said. Last year actual foreign investment in China was $69.5 billion, down 4.1 per cent from 2005.

However, if the financial sector were to be excluded, the figure totalled $63 billion, a rise of 4.5 per cent.—AFP