The Ministry of Commerce is confident that the Mainland will continue to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) despite a slump last month, the Xinhua news agency reports.

The government-run news agency cites official data showing last month’s FDI was 80.1 billion yuan, a 9.2-percent decrease compared to the same time last year.

The ministry’s spokesman Sun Jiwen was quoted as saying the decline was due to the Lunar New Year holiday and last January’s high base.

Last month’s decline did not represent the establishment of a trend because the Mainland boasts favourable conditions to attract investors in the medium-to-long term, the report says.

Last month’s non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) fell by 35.7 percent in year-on-year terms, to 53.27 billion yuan.