BEIJING - Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Chinese mainland continued to grow steadily in the first two months of this year despite slowing overall growth.

FDI, which excludes investment in the financial sector, rose 2.7 percent year on year to 142 billion yuan ($22.52 billion) in the first two months of 2016, data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) showed Friday.

Investment in the service sector accounted for 62.8 percent of total inflow during the period, reaching 89 billion yuan.

FDI in the high-tech service industry grew 157 percent year on year during the period to 16 billion yuan.

Investment from the United Kingdom, the United States and Singapore rose the most, up 120 percent, 111 percent and 54 percent, respectively.