Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China declined 14.0 percent from a year earlier to USD 7.2 billion in August, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said Tuesday.
The reading posted a double-digit drop for the second straight month, as it followed a 17-percent plunge in July, according to figures released by the ministry.
For the first eight months of the year, the world's second-biggest economy's FDI inflows fell 1.8 percent on the year to USD 78.3 billion. FDI data excludes financial sectors.
Inflows from Britain and South Korea increased in the January-August period, but those from major economies declined, including a 43.3 percent plunge from Japan, the ministry said. FDI from the US also dropped 16.9 percent and the European 17.9 percent, respectively.
The drop in August is a sign that investors are growing more cautious over the softening strength in Chinese economy, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
In response to a question on whether foreign capital is leaving China at a faster pace, ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said there are no current statistics to support that claim, according to Xinhua. "We are still analyzing related investment and trade flows, currently there are no abnormal changes," Shen was quoted as saying at a press conference in Beijing.