BEIJING, July 16 -- China's foreign direct investment (FDI) rose by 19.6 percent to $51.43 billion in the first half of the year, a senior official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said here Thursday.

Liu Yajun, director of the MOC's Foreign Investment Administration Department, said at a press briefing that in June alone, China's FDI rose 39.6 percent year-on-year to $12.51 billion.

That marked the 11th straight month that China has seen year-on-year growth in FDI.

The government approved the establishment of more than 12,400 overseas-funded ventures in the first six months of the year, an increase of 18.8 percent year-on-year, he said.

A total of 2,739 foreign companies were permitted to set up in China last month, up 8.3 percent from the same period last year, according to Liu.