OTTAWA - The Asia/Oceania region's share of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Canada more than doubled in the past ten years, with China contributing the most, Statistics Canada said on Friday.

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A newly-released report by the agency showed that over the past 10 years, the share of the Asia/Oceania region of FDI in Canada has grown from 4.5 percent in 2001 to 11.2 percent in 2010. Much of the gain came from China.

In 2010, China's direct investment in Canada reached C$14.1 billion (about $14.69 billion), up from C$12.9 billion in 2009 and 5.7 billion in 2008. The amount ranks the sixth after the United States, the Netherlands, Britain, Switzerland, France and Japan.

At the same time, the US share has declined from 64.6 percent in 2001 to 54.5 percent in 2010.

In the year 2010, total FDI in Canada increased by C$14 billion to 561.6 billion, up 2.6 percent year-on-year, while Canada's direct investment aboard declined from the previous year's C$621.2 billion to 616.7 billion.