The actual utilization of foreign investment in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province hit $2.89 billion from January to September.

The figure represented a year-on-year increase of 34.8 percent, 13.8 and 9.6 percentage points higher than the provincial average and the national average respectively over the nine-month period, the Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Commerce said.

It accounted for 2.2 percent of the nation's total, 0.2 percentage points higher than the same period last year.

From January to September, 442 foreign-funded companies were set up in Ningbo, 97 more than last year. 

Over the nine-month period, the city's contractual foreign investment amounted to $6.75 billion, rising by 172 percent year-on-year.

As of August, a total of 68 foreign Fortune 500 enterprises with an aggregated investment value of $22.3 billion have established a business presence in the city.