OREANDA-NEWS. July 17, 2012. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Anhui province amounted to 4.67 billion dollars during the first half of 2012, up 21.3 percent year-on-year, the provincial Department of Commerce said on July 14.

14 out of the province's 16 cities lured more than 100 million dollars in FDI each, compared to 11 ones over the same period a year ago.

FDI in all of Anhui's counties surged 71.1 percent year-on-year to 1.76 billion dollars between January and June, statistics showed.

The North Anhui region, consisting of three cities and seven counties, attracted an overseas direct investment of 730 million dollars during the first half of this year, up 49.4 percent from a year earlier.

The Jan-Jun period also saw a year-on-year increase of 16.3 percent in the FDI in the Anhui-Section Yangtze River Demonstration Zone, a national platform offered by the State Council, China's cabinet, to the province to undertake industrial transfers.

Taiwan, the province's increasingly closer economic and cultural partner, has expanded investment in Anhui over the past few years, especially since the provincial leaders paid a visit to the island to boost bilateral ties.

From January to June, Taiwan's investments in Anhui skyrocketed by 210 percent year-on-year to 220 million dollars. Six Taiwan businesses injected 52.8 million dollars, representing a 440 percent year-on-year surge, to set up branches in Anhui.

The FDI in the province's service sector totaled 1.25 billion dollars, representing an increase of 22.7 percent from last year, the commercial authority said.

Anhui has emerged as a magnet for foreign investors, as they relocate their businesses or expand their reaches to the central or western part of China.