(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-05 11:28

Shanghai is expected to have drawn an actual foreign investment of $7.9 billion in 2007, up 11 percent from a year earlier, local authorities have said.

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The contractual foreign investment stood at $14.869 billion, up 2.03 percent year-on-year, according to Zhou Bo, head of the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Commission.

Shanghai approved another 79 foreign-funded projects related to the headquarter economy last year, bringing the total to 593 in the Chinese financial center, Zhou said.

"The industrial structure of the foreign investment was further optimized in 2007," said Zhou.

He said the tertiary industry accounted for 64.47 percent of the total contractual foreign investment, the secondary industry, 35.28 percent and primary industry, 0.25 percent.

Statistics from the commission show that the tertiary industry absorbed $9.59 billion in contracts last year, up 14.32 percent with real estate factors deducted.

In the tertiary industry, the modern service sector, including scientific research, technological support, IT, software, and logistics, attracted $2.33 billion in contracts, up 50.3 percent year-on-year.

In the secondary industry, the advanced manufacturing sector, such as telecommunication equipment, computers and other electronic equipment, general equipment and medical equipment, attracted $2.39 billion, an annual growth of 47 percent.

"Shanghai stepped up efforts to open up last year by expanding the investment fields," Zhou said.

He said that Shanghai approved its first foreign-funded businesses in the fields of payment management, hospital management and futures brokerage in 2007, such as EDS, Accenture and Citigroup Data Processing.

"In 2008, Shanghai will further optimize the industrial structure of foreign investment and make innovations to lure foreign capital," he said.

"Modern services, advanced manufacturing and high-tech industries, in particular, will be priorities in attracting foreign investment," he added.