Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland expanded 6.5 percent to 242.28 billion yuan year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said Thursday.

In March alone, foreign direct investment (FDI)  increased eight percent year-on-year to reach 95.17 billion yuan (about 14.2 billion U.S. dollars), the ministry said.

In dollar terms, FDI inflow grew 3.7 percent year-on-year to 35.8 billion U.S. dollars during the three-month period.

The number of new overseas-funded companies established between January and March reached 9,616, MOFCOM data showed.

Investment in high-tech industries rose 50.6 percent year-on-year and accounted for 27.5 percent of the total FDI, with the high-tech manufacturing sector attracting 25.97 billion yuan in overseas investment, up 14.8 percent.

China's pilot free trade zones saw FDI inflows up 10.5 percent year-on-year during the first quarter, accounting for 10.3 percent of the total FDI.

MOFCOM data showed that FDI from Germany surged the most at a rate of 86.1 percent from one year earlier, while that from the Republic of Korea and the Netherlands jumped 79.6 percent and 74.2 percent, respectively.