Investment on fixed assets in China's urban areas rose 26.7 percent year-on-year in the first eight months, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.

The latest figure was a little higher than the 26.6 percent for the first seven months.

Urban fixed assets investment added up to 6.67 trillion yuan (US$886.97 billion) in the first eight months, said the bureau.

Investment in the primary industry enjoyed a 42.9-percent growth to 78.3 billion yuan and that of the secondary industry rose 29.5 percent to 2.96 trillion yuan. The tertiary industry witnessed an increase of 24.3 percent to 3.63 trillion yuan.

Investment in the real estate sector registered a 29 percent year-on-year growth in the period, hitting 1.43 trillion yuan (US$190.2 billion).

A total of 149,751 new projects were launched during the first eight months, 18,665 more than a year earlier. The planned investment for these projects totaled 5.19 trillion yuan (US$690.2 billion), up 16.7 percent year on year.

(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2007)