DESPITE a drop in the number of foreign-funded enterprises in China, the total investment involved has continued to rise, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce said yesterday.

By the end of March, 439,800 foreign-funded enterprises had been set up in China, down 0.18 percent from the end of December, according to the administration.

The quarterly decline followed the fall seen in 2012. At that time, the number of foreign enterprises in China had shed 1.32 percent from a record-high 446,500 at the end of 2011.

The combined registered capital of foreign companies, however, has continued to grow steadily, rising 1.33 percent from the end of December to 11.98 trillion yuan (US$1.91 trillion) at the end of March, according to the administration.