BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland rose 17.3 percent year on year to reach 70.63 billion yuan (around 10.7 billion U.S. dollars) last month, data showed Friday.

The growth accelerated from the 9.1-percent rise seen in August, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

In the first nine months, the FDI inflow edged up 1.6 percent, compared with the 0.2-percent drop during the January-August period.