China approved fewer joint ventures but attracted more foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first five months of this year, indicating the country is still a popular destination of overseas capital, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC). A total of 15,072 joint ventures were approved by the ministry from January to May, down 3.75 percent year-on-year. They utilized 25.28 billion US dollars, up 9.87 percent from a year earlier. Manufacturing accounted for 53 percent of the total investment or 13.461 billion dollars, the highest among all sectors. Real estate came next with 6.035 billion dollars. The top ten investors in the Chinese mainland are Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United States, the Cayman Islands, Samoa, Taiwan, and Mauritius. They accounted for 86 percent of the total FDI.

China's retail sales unexpectedly accelerated at the fastest pace in three years, buoyed by rising incomes and a stock market that's almost doubled this year. Sales rose 15.9 percent from a year earlier to 715.8 billion yuan (US$94 billion) according to the statistics bureau.