A total of US$5.2 billion of foreign direct investment were used in January, up 13.9 percent over last year, the Ministry of Commerce reported yesterday.

According to the ministry, China approved the establishment of 3,370 foreign-invested firms last month, up 10.7 percent.

The top 10 countries and regions that invested in Chinese mainland included Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, the United States and Taiwan.

However, investment from the European Union dropped by 68.85 percent. The ministry did not give reasons for the decline.