BEIJING - Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland rose 7.1 percent year on year to 59.5 billion yuan ($9.56 billion) in September, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Monday.

The growth slowed markedly from a 22-percent jump in August but was still faster than a 5.2-percent increase in July.

The FDI grew steadily as high-tech industries kept drawing foreign investors, said the MOC.

In the first nine months, FDI, which excludes investment in the financial sector, expanded 9 percent from a year earlier to $94.9 billion.

Among all sectors, high-tech services continued to shine, attracting $6.16 billion of foreign investment in the first nine months, a 57.6 percent surge year on year.

High-tech manufacturing saw investment inflow accelerate to a 10.4 percent growth during the period, reaching $7 billion.

FDI in the service sector in general rose 19.2 percent to $58 billion, while that in manufacturing edged up 0.7 percent to $29.8 billion, according to the MOC.

More foreign firms invested in China through mergers and acquisitions, which accounted for 16.1 percent of the total FDI in the Jan-Sept period, up from 5.8 percent in the same period of last year.