Beijing used US$1.19 billion of foreign investment in the first seven months this year, up 9.8 percent over the corresponding period of last year.

According to the city foreign trade and economic cooperation committee, the city approved 760 foreign-financed enterprises in the seven-month period, with involved contractual foreign investment totaling US$1.57 billion, a rise of 5.9 percent on a yearly basis.

Zhou Yinliang, a spokeswoman for the committee, said that enterprises with 100 percent foreign financing accounted for 60 percent of the 760 foreign-funded enterprises established in the January-July period.

Of the total figure, 289, or 38 percent, were in the manufacturing sector, and 344, or 45.3 percent, were in the service sector.

A total of 64 of the 760 foreign-financed enterprises each boasted a total investment of more than US$10 million.

(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2003)