Foreign direct investment in China fell by 7.3 percent year-on-year in January, the eighth consecutive month when China registered negative FDI growth.

The fall is in line with the weak global investment sentiment in 2012 and does not signal that China has lost its allure for investors. January's FDI figure indicates that investor confidence is yet to improve both for China and the world economy as a whole. As the global situation improves, it is likely that FDI in the country will pick up.

China attracted a total FDI of $111.7 billion in 2012, slightly lower than the level in 2011.