OREANDA-NEWS.   The research and development fund of above-scale enterprises across Anhui reached 24.77 billion yuan in 2013, up 18.5% from the previous year, according to Anhui Provincial Bureau of Statistics. The growth rate of Anhui ranked 2nd nationwide among 14 provinces and municipalities in which the R & D fund hit 20 billion yuan respectively.

The high investment in innovation yielded high production accordingly. 17.3 thousand new projects were newly developed in 2013, up 14.4% from that in 2012; and the industrial value of new products hit 466.2 billion yuan, up 18.6%. The industrial value of new products contributed 16% to the growth rate of above-scale enterprises across Anhui.

A total of 33 thousand patents were applied for approval in 2013, up 23.4% from the previous year. The number of effective patents hit 13.6 thousand, up 47.4%.