China's national capital of Beijing received US$1.02 billion in overseas investment from January to June, a rise of 11.8 percent on the same period last year.

Sources from the municipal commission of foreign trade and economic cooperation said the city approved 659 overseas funded businesses in the first six months of the year, up 14 percent.

Contractual overseas investment on newly approved foreign invested ventures totaled US$1.33 billion, up 22 percent.

An official from the commission pledged that in the latter half of the year, the reform of the approval system would continue, services to overseas financed businesses in the national capital would be improved and the city's service trade and infrastructure would be restructured.

Greater efforts will also be made to attract more multinationals to move their regional headquarters to Beijing, said the official.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2003)