641 foreign-invested companies founded in Beijing from January to May

According to data released by the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau on June 26, 641 foreign-invested enterprises were established in the Chinese capital from January to May, representing a 4.9 percent year-on-year increase; contractual foreign investment reached US$12.32 billion, registering a 2.7 percent increase year-on-year; actual use of foreign investment hit US$6.6 billion, 1.3 percent higher than last year and accounting for 12 percent of China's total.

The vast majority of the new firms-613 out of 641-are in the service sector, according to the new data. Of all foreign investment in the first five months, US$6 billion went into the service industry, 90.8 percent of Beijing's total.

The commerce bureau's new data also highlights the fast growth of scientific and technological services and information services. From January to May, 366 high-tech companies were founded in the service sector, 18.1 percent higher than last year; the actual use of foreign investment totaled US$3.55 billion, doubling the amount of last year. The number of newly opened businesses in scientific research and technical services was 276, and the number of information transmission, software, and IT service companies was 86. They respectively registered increases of 9.1 percent and 75.5 percent from 2018. The foreign investment used in the two sectors both totaled US$1.8 billion during this period, increasing 57.8 percent and 180 percent year-on-year, respectively.