Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China rose 5.0 percent year-on-year to $40.3 billion in the first four months of 2014, lifted by funds from Asian neighbours, the government said on Friday.

For April alone FDI -- which excludes investment in financial sectors -- was up 3.4 percent at $8.7 billion, the ministry of commerce said in a statement. However, that was down from $12.24 billion seen in March.

"Investment from major countries and regions into China maintained a stable growth momentum," ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said in the statement.

In the January-April period, the top five investors included Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and China's special administrative region of Hong Kong, the ministry said.

But investment from Japan plunged 46.8 percent to $1.6 billion, it said, as a festering political row over disputed islands in the East China Sea has made Japanese companies reluctant to pour funds into its neighbour.

Investment from the United States fell 11.4 percent in the first four months to $1.2 billion, but it was still one of the top 10 investors, according to the ministry.

Foreign investment into China rebounded in 2013 to $117.59 billion, but the country's slowing growth could crimp inflows this year.

Separately, the ministry said China's overseas investment in non-financial sectors fell 12.9 percent year-on-year to $25.69 billion in January-April.

Investment in the United States rose 173.3 percent year-on-year to $1.7 billion, while that in the European Union increased 2.2 percent to $700 million, it said, in a rare disclosure of absolute values for individual markets.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations received investment worth $1.58 billion from China in the period, up 5.7 percent from a year ago, it added.

However, investment in Hong Kong and Australia declined 41 percent and 0.7 percent year-on-year respectively in the period, the ministry said.

Beijing has encouraged companies to "go out" to seal supplies of crucial resources as well as make overseas acquisitions to gain market access and international experience.

afp, photo by resources1.news.com.au