FOREIGN direct investment in Shanghai rose 10.4 percent from a year earlier to US$1.45 billion in March, a three-month high in terms of value due to more investment in the city's service sector, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau said today.
Altogether 343 foreign-invested projects were signed last month, a surge of 69 percent from the same period of last year. Among these projects, 322 were in the service sector, accounting for nearly 90 percent in the overall foreign investment in March, the official data showed.
Chen Xianjin, deputy director at the Shanghai Commission of Commerce, said earlier that Shanghai remains a magnet for foreign investment when the world is captured by economic slowdown and recessions.
"When the global economy is not good, investors seek after quality projects to guarantee and maximize the returns of their money," Chen said.
Earlier this month, governors of two American states (California and Wisconsin) came to Shanghai, announcing the establishment of their state repo office in the city to promote bilateral trade and investment exchanges.
Last week, the Isle of Man, a self-governing island located adjacent to the United Kingdom, also sent its Minister for Economic Development John Shimmin to Shanghai to introduce mutual investment opportunities.
Shanghai's economy expanded 7.5 percent in 2012. With only 0.06 percent of China's land, 1.8 percent of its population and 1.7 percent of its investment, Shanghai produced more than 4 percent of the nation's overall economic output.
The city is to release the first-quarter gross domestic product growth this coming Thursday.