In 2020, despite the protracted global economic slump amid-st the COVID-19 pandemic, Fujian’s utilized foreign investment continued to rise, turning in an impressive performance. The actual value of utilized foreign investment in the province totaled RMB 34.79 billion, an increase of 10.3% year on year, reaching a 10-year high. The target for the whole year’s FDI inflows was exceeded. Following are the highlights: 

FDI inflows to the key cities increased markedly. Xiamen and Fuzhou were the province’s top two recipients of FDI inflows, experiencing a growth of 23.8% and 7.3%, respectively. The “9+1+40” （refer in particular to 9 municipal cities, Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Area and 40 key counties and development zones for investment promotion in Fujian）investment promotion platform continued producing significant results. For the 40 counties (cities and districts) and development zones with a solid foundation in attracting foreign investment, the actual value of utilized foreign investment surged by 21.3% and accounted for 89.7% of the provincial total. The Xiamen area of China （Fujian） Pilot Free Trade Zone reported strong results in attracting foreign capital, with FDI inflows jumping by 23.3%. 

FDI inflows from the major source countries and regions continued their upward trend. FDI inflows from Hong Kong grew by 20.4% and made up 70.8% of the province’s total. FDI inflows to Fujian from developed countries and regions like the Netherlands, Japan and Switzerland and from Macao all saw a double-digit growth, up 395.5%, 24.9%, 15.6% and 79.3%, respectively. 

The structure of utilized foreign investment was further improved. In the high-tech manufacturing sector, utilized foreign investment grew by 45.1% for the optoelectronic device manufacturing industry, and 10.9% for the communications equipment, radar and supporting equipment manufacturing industry. In the service sector, FDI inflows surged by 37.2%, with the growth rate reaching 141% in the hotel and restaurant industry, 98.7% in the leasing and business service industry, and 70.6% in the retail and wholesale industry.  

Large projects played a significant role in underpinning growth. As many as 68 enterprises each received FDI inflows in excess of RMB 100 million, surging by 21.1% and contributing 16.1 percentage points to the growth rate of the province’s utilized foreign investment. Among them, seven enterprises, including Gulei Petrochemical and United Semi, received FDI inflows of more than RMB 1 billion.