China's utilized foreign direct investment grew 4.86% year on year to US$14.02 billion in the first two months of this year, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Commerce yesterday.

The utilized FDI in February climbed 1.08% year on year to US$5.90 billion, reflecting the seventh consecutive monthly increase.

In the period from January to February, China approved the establishment of 3,163 foreign-invested enterprises, 14.56% more than in the same period of 2009. The number of newly-approved foreign-invested firms in February was 1,297, up 2.53% year on year.

In the first two months, the utilized FDI in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery surged 81.88% year on year, accounting for 1.64% of the total, a ratio 0.69 percentage points higher than in the same period of 2009. The utilized FDI in the service industry rose 18.94% from a year earlier, accounting for 44.01% of the total, a ratio 5.2 percentage points higher than a year ago.

However, the FDI utilized in the manufacturing industry in the period dropped 13.02% year on year, accounting for 48.01% of the total.