China's FDI down for third month 20 (UPI) -- China, citing the global slowdown, said August foreign direct investments fell 1.43 percent to $8.33 billion year-on-year, the third straight monthly decline. Investments in July were $7.58 billion. The Commerce Ministry said FDI inflow for the first eight months of this year ended August totaled $74.99 billion, down 3.4 percent year-on-year. Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said investments from the debt-hit European Union fell 4.1 percent during the past eight months, while those from the United States were down 2.85 percent. Investments from Japan, however, were up 16.2 percent in the same period. China's economy, the second largest in the world after the United states, grew 7.6 percent in the second quarter, down from 8.1 percent in the first quarter and the lowest growth since the second quarter of 2009.