BEIJING — Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland expanded 5.5 percent year-on-year to reach 147.11 billion yuan in the first two months, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced on March 15.

In dollar terms, FDI inflow grew 3 percent year-on-year to $21.69 billion during the period, the MOC said in a statement.

FDI in February alone reached 62.94 billion yuan, up 6.6 percent year-on-year. In dollar terms, FDI inflow rose 3.3 percent to $9.28 billion last month.

The number of new overseas-funded companies established in the January-February period reached 6,509, MOC data showed.

Investment in high-tech industries rose 48.4 percent year-on-year and accounted for 27.6 percent of the total FDI, with the high-tech manufacturing sector attracting 15.91 billion yuan in overseas investment, up 9.3 percent.

China’s pilot free trade zones saw FDI inflow up 35.1 percent year-on-year during the period, accounting for 12 percent of the total FDI.