Guangxi's Beibu Gulf Economic Zone became a hit for investment at the ongoing 6th China-ASEAN Expo as the area attracted nearly one-fifth of cooperation projects from domestic enterprises agreed at the expo.

Chinese enterprises inked 17 projects targeted at the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone with a total investment of 7.483 billion yuan (US$1.1 billion) during the five-day expo in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The Beibu Gulf Economic Zone covers six cities along the Beibu Gulf in Guangxi, including Nanning, Beihai, Qinzhou, Fangchenggang, Chongzuo and Yulin.

The projects were among a total of 80 cooperation projects sealed during the expo with a combined investment of 47.44 billion yuan.

The expo attracted 2,450 enterprises from China, ASEAN member states and other countries including the United States, France and Italy, up 16.7 percent from the previous expo in last year.

(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2009)