Foreign investors pull record amount of money from China

The slowdown in the economy and rising geopolitical tensions has led some companies to reduce their exposure, and the rapid shift to electric vehicles in China also caught foreign car firms off guard, prompting some to withdraw or scale back their investments.

Chinese firms have been rapidly stepping up investment, with money going into projects such as electric vehicle and battery factories. Picture: AP/Andy Wong

Foreign investors pulled a record amount of money from China last quarter, likely reflecting deep pessimism about the world’s second-largest economy.

China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped almost $15bn (€13.7bn) in the April-June period, marking only the second time this figure has turned negative, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange released Friday. It was down about $5bn for the first six months.