MOSCOW. May 21 (Interfax) - Foreign investment in Russia grew 180% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2007 to $24.624 billion, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) said on Monday.

A sharp increase in loans raised from outside of Russia was being the significant growth in investment.

Foreign direct investment in Russia grew 150% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2007 to $9.756 billion. FDI included $2.006 billion in equity contributions to companies, up 13.5%; $7.463 billion in loans from the foreign co-owners of enterprises, up 14.8-fold; $9 million in leasing payments, down 50.3%; and $278 million in other direct investment, down 82.1%.

Foreign portfolio investment in Russia fell 14.2% year-on-year to $197 million in the first quarter of 2007.

Other investment in Russia rose 210% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2007 to $14.671 billion. This included $2.104 billion in trade-related loans, up 27.9%, and $12.403 billion in other loans, up 310%, including $1.101 billion in loans with a tenor of 180 days or less, up 340%, and $11.302 billion in loans due in more than 180 days, up 310%. Other investment grew 320% to $164 million.

Foreign investment in the first quarter of 2007 totaled $8.436 billion in extractive industries; $3.363 billion in the manufacturing sector; $7.895 billion in wholesale and retail trade, and repair of automobiles, motorcycles, household goods and personal items; $2.74 billion in transportation and communications; $821 million in the financial sector; $891 million in operations with real estate, leasing and business services; $100 million in electricity, gas and water supply; $272 million in construction; and $55 million in agriculture, hunting and forestry.

The stock of foreign investment in Russia increased by 33.1% year- on-year to $151.5 billion at the end of March 2007. This included 50% of other investment, 48.2% of direct investment and 1.8% of portfolio investment, compared to respectively 51%, 47.4% and 1.6% a year earlier.

The biggest country investors at the end of March were Cyprus with $31.835 billion of accumulated investment in Russia; the Netherlands with $30.69 billion; Luxembourg with $26.78 billion; Britain with $11.61 billion; Germany with $10 billion; the United States with $6.754 billion; Ireland with $3.67 billion; France with $3.651 billion, the Virgin Islands with $3.589 billion and Switzerland with $3.107 billion. These countries account for 86.9% of the stock of foreign investment in Russia.

The biggest investor in Russia in the first quarter of 2007 was the Netherlands with $7.76 billion, including $7.444 billion in the fuel and energy extractive industry.

Luxembourg followed with $4.048 billion; Britain with $3.124 billion, Cyprus with $2.82 billion, Ireland with $1.656 billion; Germany with $666 million, the Virgin Islands with $579 million; Switzerland with $504 million, France with $466 million and the United States with $364 million.