SHANGHAI: China's foreign direct investment fell in April for a seventh month as companies cut back amid the global financial crisis, the Commerce Ministry said Friday.

The ministry reported that foreign direct investment in China totaled $5.89 billion in April, down 22.5 percent from a year earlier. That compared with a 9.5 percent decline in March.

Actual direct foreign investment in January-April fell 21 percent to $287.7 billion, as companies canceled or postponed spending on factories and other assets due to weakening trade and financial conditions.

April's figure was distorted somewhat by the high level of investment in April 2008, when such commitments jumped nearly 53 percent from a year earlier.

The prolonged decline in foreign investment is the first since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.

Figures for the first quarter of the year, announced earlier, show the sharpest declines in investments from South Korea, the United States and Hong Kong - although Hong Kong remained by far the biggest source of funds, accounting for 45 percent.

The retreat from double-digit growth in foreign investment has hit some parts of the economy hard. New college graduates, who often seek work in foreign-invested companies, are among those most affected, and the government is scrambling to find ways to create jobs for a huge pool of overqualified workers.

But China remains a favored destination for a wide range of industries, many increasingly focused on making inroads into its still developing market of 1.3 billion people.

Automakers, pharmaceutical companies and food processors are among those generally still expanding.

China attracted $92.4 billion in foreign direct investment last year. That was up 23.6 percent from 2007, although growth began to weaken toward the end of the year.

"The whole world economy is facing with the same over-output problem, not just China. The decline in foreign direct investment is due to shrinking global demand. It doesn't mean China's economy is less attractive," said Chen Xu, a local economic commentator.

Instead of waiting for more incoming investment, China increasingly is focusing on making strategic investments overseas, he noted.