Foreign companies invested 81.1 billion dollars in the country in the period from January to October, the commerce ministry said in a statement on its website.

The growth rate for the period was slower than the 39.9 percent rise in the first nine months of the year, as inflow moderated for the ninth straight month in October.

The ministry did not provide a figure for October alone.

But previous official data showed foreign direct investment in the first nine months totalled 74.4 billion dollars, meaning the inflow in October was 6.72 billion dollars, down slightly from 6.78 billion dollars year on year.

"The global credit squeeze is expected to have directly weighed on foreign direct investment," said Sherman Chan, an analyst with Moody's in Sydney.

"Rising risk aversion due to an unclear global economic outlook has also likely seen foreign businesses switch to a wait-and-see mode," he said.

The steady yuan, which has stayed at roughly the same level against the dollar since April, has further weakened incentives for investors to enter China, Chan added.

Foreign direct investment is one of the factors driving the rapid growth of China's foreign exchange reserves, which topped 1.9 trillion dollars at the end of September.