South China's Guangdong Province recorded a more than one quarter increase in number of newly registered private enterprises in the first three months, according to the government.

Guangdong, bordering Hong Kong, was one of first few Chinese provinces opening up to the outside world and has led other Chinese provincial regions in annual gross domestic output for years.

A robust private economy helps to drive the province's economy to keep booming and maintain its lead in the country.

According to the Provincial Industrial and Commercial Bureau, newly registered private enterprises numbered 19,782 in the first quarter, up 27.44 percent on a year-on-year basis. They had a total capital of 20.5 billion yuan (2.5 billion US dollars) and created 205,000 jobs, up about 33 percent and 41 percent respectively from the same period last year.

By the end of March, the province had a total of 341,358 private enterprises, employing 3.7 million people and having a total capital of 488 billion yuan (58.8 billion US dollars), according to bureau statistics.

Source: Xinhua