The actual utilization of foreign investment in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province hit $2.56 billion from January to July, more than that of all of last year, official data showed.

The figure represented a year-on-year increase of 54 percent, 16.8 and 23.1 percent higher than the provincial average and the national average respectively over the seven-month period, the Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Commerce said.

It accounted for 2.5 percent of the nation's total.

In the first seven months of this year, a total of 373 foreign-funded companies were set up in Ningbo, 128 more than the same period last year. Their investment totaled $8.39 billion, rising by 31.1 percent year-on-year.

To date, a total of 68 foreign Fortune 500 enterprises have establish a business presence in the city, with an aggregated investment value of $22.3 billion.

From January to July, three foreign Fortune 500 companies, including LyondellBasell and Costco, had made investments in Ningbo.

The period saw notable growth in the number of projects with large investments. Twenty-five projects had an investment value surpassing $100 million, with a combined contractual foreign capital of $3.28 billion.