BEIJING, Feb 18: Foreign direct investment into China more than doubled in January, up 109.8 per cent from a year ago, the commerce ministry said on Monday.

Foreign companies invested $11.2bn in the country last month, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

Last year, China attracted $82.7 billion in foreign direct investment, rising 13.8 per cent from a year earlier.

Foreign direct investment, along with booming exports, are among the top factors resulting in China’s massive build-up in foreign exchange reserves.

China’s foreign exchange reserves, already the world’s largest, hit $1.53 trillion by the end of 2007, up more than 40 per cent from the previous year, state media reported earlier.—AFP