China denies mass foreign investment withdrawal

A $100 banknote is placed next to 100 yuan banknotes in this October 16, 2010 file picture illustration taken in Beijing. [Photo/Agencies]

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Thursday denied media reports that foreign firms were taking back their capital in China.

"There is no mass capital withdrawal of overseas enterprises in China," MOC spokesman Shen Danyang said during a press conference.

A small number of companies adjusted their business in China due to rising labor costs, sluggish demands and poor operation, he said.

"But companies only retreated in a limited quantity," Shen said.

Reports ran wild that Microsoft closed two Nokia factories and Panasonic intended to call back two assembly lines of TV sets in China, suggesting the country was no more a favorite for foreign investors.

Shen attributed the factory shutdown to corporate self-adjustment and increasingly fiercer competition in the market.

"And the withdrawal of production lines was far from widespread phenomenon in China," Shen added, citing Panasonic had decided to relocate part of its production line of Lumix camera to east China's Xiamen city.

He pointed out that China still remained a strong magnet to global capital thanks to political stability, growing markets, improving facilities, opening-up progress and a better business environment.

The largest investment destination among developing countries for 23 years in a row, China utilized $119.6 billion in 2014, up 1.7 percent year on year, the MOC data showed.