Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland rose 7.1 percent year on year to 59.5 billion yuan (9.56 billion U.S. dollars) in September, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Monday.

The growth slowed markedly from a 22-percent jump in August but was still faster than a 5.2-percent increase in July.

The FDI grew steadily as high-tech industries kept drawing foreign investors, said the MOC.

In the first nine months, FDI, which excludes investment in the financial sector, expanded 9 percent from a year earlier to 94.9 billion U.S. dollars.

Among all sectors, high-tech services continued to shine, attracting 6.16 billion U.S. dollars of foreign investment in the first nine months, a 57.6-percent surge year on year.

High-tech manufacturing saw investment inflow accelerate to a 10.4-percent growth during the period, reaching 7 billion U.S. dollars.

FDI in the service sector in general rose 19.2 percent to 58 billion U.S. dollars, while that in manufacturing edged up 0.7 percent to 29.8 billion U.S. dollars, according to the MOC.

More foreign firms invested in China through mergers and acquisitions, which accounted for 16.1 percent of the total FDI in the Jan.-Sept. period, up from 5.8 percent in the same period of last year.

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