Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China accelerated by 32.2 percent year on year to $7.8 billion in February, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Tuesday.

The February FDI inflow was less than January's $10.03 billion and the number of newly approved foreign-funded companies also fell in the month due to a week-long Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, MOC said in a brief statement on its website.

Compared with 2,243 new foreign-funded enterprises in January, only 1,156 new foreign-invested enterprises were approved in February, down 10.9 percent from the same period of last year.

The FDI into China increased 17.4 percent year on year to $105.74 billion last year.

(Xinhua News Agency March 15, 2011)