Investment in Xinjiang up 19.6% in 2017

URUMQI - Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region attracted more than 538 billion yuan ($85 billion) in investment last year, up 19.6 percent year-on-year, local authorities said Monday.

The 538 billion yuan excluded foreign and oil investment, according to the investment promotion bureau in the region.

Much of the investment came from 19 provincial-level regions, which injected a total of 344 billion yuan in more than 2,650 projects in 2017, an increase of 23 percent from a year ago. The investment has greatly driven the development of labor-intensive industries such as textiles, electronics, agricultural products as well as tourism and cultural services in Xinjiang.

Xinjiang has also published a series of preferential policies to attract private investment, which registered a yearly growth of 17 percent last year.

Local authorities said this year Xinjiang will concentrate on attracting capital in the financial sector to encourage more banks, securities and insurance companies to invest in the region.