Foreign investment in Shanghai's services industry in 2006 increased 33.5 percent from the year before, accounting for 66.9 percent of the total contractual value, according to the White Paper released yesterday by the Shanghai municipal government.

The contractual value of foreign investment in the city's second-biggest industry, manufacturing, dropped 26.4 percent from a year earlier, said the paper compiled by the Shanghai municipal foreign economics and trade commission (SMFETC).

Liu Jinping, vice-chairman of the commission, said it is important for the Shanghai government to step up its efforts to increase the share of foreign investment in the services sector, including banking, securities business and insurance.

"We attach great importance not only on the scale of foreign investments but also on their quality and structure," Liu said.

Song Jinbiao, director of foreign direct investment promotion department of SMFETC, also said more efforts will be made to promote investment in financial services.

According to the White Paper, the rate of return on foreign investment in Shanghai reached 24.73 percent in 2006, higher than the national average of 22 percent.

Source: China Daily