Centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) invested almost 100 billion yuan (US$14.49 billion) in research and development in 2007, up 40.8 percent from the previous year, the state assets regulator said here on Tuesday.

The state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said about 150 such SOEs allocated 98.7 billion yuan to R&D, comprising 26.9 percent of national R&D investment.

As of the end of 2007, these SOEs employed 1.02 million people in the science and technology fields and 465,000 people in R&D, up 8.8 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, over 2006.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2008)