Foreign direct investment into China maintained its momentum in August, adding to signs of an upturn in the economy and growing investor confidence.

The Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday that FDI inflow, excluding that to financial services, rose to $79.77 billion from January to August, up 6.37 percent year-on-year.

In August, the inflow was $8.38 billion, up 0.62 percent year-on-year but substantially lower than the 24.13 percent growth in July and 20.12 percent increase in June. However, ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said this is due mainly to a high base figure a year ago.