In 2005, 18 joint-venture banks, insurance companies and fund-management companies were approved to be established in China, with 12.08 billion U.S. dollars of foreign investment used.

The Ministry of Commerce released the figures on Friday.

Investment from overseas actually used by China in 2005 totaled 72.406 billion U.S. dollars, up 19.42 percent on the previous year.

In 2005, 44,019 new foreign-funded enterprises were established in China, an increase of 0.81 percent on the previous year.

Source: Xinhua