China's catering business reaped 470.5 billion yuan (56.7 billion US dollars) in its retail sales in the first seven months of 2005, up 17.8 percent from a year earlier, said a report from the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing on August 16.

The increase represents 4.71 percentage points more than the growth in China's retail sales of consumer goods, said the report.

The catering sector realized a retail sales volume of 68.9 billion yuan (8.3 billion US dollars) in July, accounting for 14 percent of the country's total retail sales.

According to the report, foreign investors set up 485 catering companies in the first seven months in China, down 1.22 percent from a year before. The contracted foreign capital pouring into the industry stood at 555.17 million US dollars, up 38.53 percent year-on-year.

Source: Xinhua