BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- China said Monday the materialized foreign direct investment fell 1.52 percent on year to 42.59 billion U.S. dollars in the first three quarters of the year.

Nine months into the year, China approved a total of 30,021 foreign-funded companies, down 6.83 percent from the same 2005 period, said the Ministry of Commerce spokesman Chong Quan.

September's FDI, however, reversed the trend, climbing 2.72 percent to 5.4 billion U.S. dollars, as 3,794 foreign-funded firms were given the nod for establishment. Enditem