China has maintained its appeal to foreign investors despite a slowdown in the macroeconomy.

The country received $7.66 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in October, up 7.86 percent from a year ago, said the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). This was the 15th consecutive month of growth.

The October figure brought the amount for the first 10 months of the year to $82 billion, surging 15.71 percent year on year. From January to October, a total of 21,181 foreign-funded companies were approved, an increase of 16.62 percent over the previous year.

As the Chinese economy takes off, many foreign investors have focused on the Chinese market, instead of exports back to their home countries, said Yao Jian, a MOFCOM spokesman on November 16.

Meanwhile, a growing stream of FDI is shifting from the manufacturing industry to the service sector, he said. From January to October, 45 percent of the FDI went to the service sector, while 47.6 percent went to manufacturing industry.