Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow into China shrank by 7.3 percent year on year to $9.27 billion in January 2013, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on February 20.

The pace of decline quickened from the 4.5-percent drop registered in December. The country's FDI inflow has been dropping since June 2012 as the global economy falters and China's labor costs increase.

In January, the manufacturing sector received the largest share of FDI, which reached $4.43 billion, down 5.8 percent year on year.

FDI for the service sector witnessed a greater decline. The sector saw $4.03 billion of FDI in January, down 9.8 percent year on year. Particularly, FDI in the property sector dipped 14 percent from a year ago.

Although the January FDI figures have dropped, there is some positive news, said MOFCOM spokesman Shen Danyang. In January, the EU set up 140 enterprises in China, with a total investment of $820 million, up 30.8 percent and 81.8 percent, respectively, year on year.

Compared with the lackluster FDI figures, Chinese outbound direct investment (ODI) in non-financial sectors amounted to $4.91 billion in January, an increase of 12.3 percent year on year.

The Chinese invested in 777 foreign companies in 123 countries and regions.

Chinese investment in ASEAN, Australia, EU and the United States even doubled compared with January 2012.

Among all regions, Shandong, Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces as well as Beijing were top outbound investors.