Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland dropped 14 percent in August from a year earlier, settling at $7.2 billion, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on September 16.

The data, following a 17-percent slump in July, marked the lowest volume in nearly five years. It is a sign that investors are growing more cautious over the softening of the world's second largest economy.

For the first eight months, FDI, which excludes investment in the financial sector, stood at $78.34 billion, down 1.8 percent from the same period last year, the ministry said.

In response to a question on whether foreign capital is leaving China, MOFCOM spokesman Shen Danyang said there are no current statistics to support that claim.

"We are still analyzing related investment and trade flows. Currently, there are no abnormal changes," he noted.

FDI from major economies slipped, including a 16.9-percent drop from the United States and a 17.9-percent fall from the European Union. Investment from Japan went down 43.3 percent to $3.16 billion in the first eight months.

In contrast, China's outbound FDI by non-financial firms surged 112.1 percent to $12.62 billion in August. For the January-August period, outbound FDI totaled $65.17 billion, up 15.3 percent.