VANCOUVER -- Canada ranks the ninth as an investment destination for Chinese companies, according to a survey released Monday by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, a Canadian independent and non-profit think tank.

The China Goes Global 2013 survey, released during the China Goes Global Symposium held in Vancouver, showed that six percent of Chinese firms picked Canada for their future direct investment, while 35 percent chose the United States and 16 percent chose Germany.

The survey was conducted between February and June 2013 on a total of 1,056 firms, including 962 respondents of Chinese firms.

Yuen Pau Woo, president and CEO of the APF, said although investment opportunities are everywhere around the world and one should not expect Canada to be on the top of the list, the lack of regulatory clarity on foreign investments into Canada might be the reason why Chinese companies are hesitant to invest in the country.

"The problem I think is that Canada has sometimes sent some mixed signals about investments from China. Our government has expressed some reservations about state-owned enterprises," said Woo.

"And I think we need to be clearer and maybe we even need to change some of our policies that restrict state-owned enterprises, because if we send a negative signal, a negative message will be received."

Since 2006, Canada has witnessed a rapid growth of Chinese investment flow into Canada. However, the investment remains small compared to investments in Canada from other major players.