China approved fewer joint ventures but attracted more foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first five months, indicating the country is still a popular destination of overseas capital, Yao Shenhong, spokesman with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Wednesday.

A total of 15,072 joint ventures were approved by the ministry from January to May, down 3.75 percent year-on-year. They utilized 25.28 billion U.S. dollars, up 9.87 percent from a year earlier, Yao said.

Manufacturing accounted for 53 percent of the total investment or 13.461 billion dollars, the highest among all sectors. Real estate came the next with 6.035 billion dollars.

Of the 8,510 newly approved joint ventures engaged in manufacturing, 847 were in telecommunications, computers and electronics, while textiles attracted 305 joint ventures.

This reflects the preference of the government for more overseas capital in research and development, new high-tech and energy conservation and environment-friendly sectors.

The top 10 investors in the Chinese mainland are Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United States, Cayman Islands, Samoa, Taiwan and Mauritius. They accounted for 86 percent of the total FDI.

China used 63 billion dollars in FDI last year, up 4.47 percent from 2005's 60.3 billion dollars, according to MOC figures.