Commerce ministry spokesman Shen Danyang attributed the drops to a high comparative base. “There were several big-ticket ODI projects in June and July last year,” he told reporters, adding that there were no similarly large deals in those months this year. “Many ODI projects were in the energy and oil sectors in the past,” he added. “Investors this year have been taking a wait-and-see stance due to the slumps in prices of oil and minerals and other international commodities.”
Full-year ODI growth is still expected to be 10%-15% or “even higher”, he said. ODI in the January-July period rose 20.8% year-on-year to US$63.5 billion.