The first half of the year saw domestic investment in Chongqing jump 28.1 per cent year-on-year to Rmb39.8bn and 34.5 per cent in terms of the number of projects to 4,440, according to statistics released by the local government on 7 July.

The top 20 projects each utilised investment worth at least Rmb300m, accounting for nearly a third of the total inward investment from domestic companies. The most popular destination is the northern part of the city, followed by the south bank and Shapingba district.

Manufacturing and real estate continued to be the most attractive sectors, accounting for 70 per cent of the total investment.

Domestic investment came from around 30 provinces and municipalities across China while Guangdong, Beijing, Zhejiang and Shanghai led the pack, each investing Rmb4bn and more.

One of the city’s major FIEs, Chongqing Changan Suzuki Automobile, produced its one millionth car at the end of June. The company started operations in 1995, manufacturing the Alto model; today it produces a number of additional models including the Cultus, Swift and SX4.