SHANGHAI, CHINA - FOREIGN direct investment in China rose 39.9 per cent in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period last year, the government said on Friday.

Foreign companies invested 74.4 billion dollars (S$110 billion) in the country in the period from January to September, the commerce ministry said in a statement.

The growth rate for the period was slower than the 41.6 percent increase in the first eight months of the year.

The ministry did not provide a foreign direct investment figure for September alone.

Foreign direct investment is one of the factors driving the rapid growth of China's foreign exchange reserves, which topped 1.8 trillion dollars at the end of June.