SHANGHAI: Shanghai’s foreign direct investment slumped 23.4 percent from a year earlier in April to US$1.3 billion, deteriorating from the fall of 0.4 percent in March, according to the Shanghai Statistics Bureau today.
But contracted foreign investment more than doubled last month to US$4.3 billion, indicating more funds will be in the pipeline. Among it, the service sector attracted US$3.6 billion, or 82.9 percent of the total.
“The sharp decline was due to a high comparative base,” the bureau said in a statement. “The growth momentum is expected to stabilize in the coming months.”
Meanwhile, Shanghai’s trade lost 6 percent to 227.3 billion yuan (US$36.6 billion) in April, with exports contracting 11.4 percent and imports edging down 1.5 percent.
Exports to the European Union decreased 6.6 percent last month, and that to the United States scaled back 12.2 percent. Exports to Japan slid 21 percent.
