Shanghai foreign investment falls for 1st time in 18 yrs

SHANGHAI - Foreign investment into Shanghai in 2017 dropped for the first time in 18 years due to control measures in the property and financial service industries.

China's financial and business center received $17 billion of foreign investment last year, down 8 percent from 2016, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce said Thursday.

Foreign investment into the real estate and financial service sectors declined 40 percent and 23 percent, respectively, the commission said.

The business service sector, led by the regional headquarters of multinational corporations, attracted nearly $5 billion of foreign investment, up 5 percent year-on-year, accounting for 29 percent of the total.

In 2017, Shanghai added 45 regional headquarters of multinational corporations and 15 foreign-funded research and development centers.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone received $6 billion of foreign investment, up 6 percent. Last year, it opened more of the service sector to foreign investment.

The service sector in Shanghai received 95 percent of the total investment, a record-high percentage, it said.

Foreign investment in Shanghai had risen for 17 consecutive years by 2016 when it rose 0.3 percent.