A worker processes equipment parts at a high-tech company in Rizhao, Shandong province. [Photo/IC]

From January to September this year, the actual utilization of foreign investment in Shandong province reached 102.21 billion yuan (about $14.52 billion), the fifth largest in the country, officials from the Shandong Provincial Department of Commerce announced at a news conference on Oct 30.

During this period, the actual utilization of foreign investment in the province's high-tech industries amounted to $4.69 billion, a year-on-year growth of 52.1 percent, while the actual utilization of foreign investment in the manufacturing industry reached $5.47 billion, accounting for 37.7 percent of the total figure.

Investment from developed economies such as Europe and America showed faster growth, reaching $820 million, a year-on-year increase of 49.7 percent.

In the first nine months, 23 projects in Shandong each received investments of more than $100 million.

The third Conference of Great Business Partners, which was held in the provincial capital Jinan in March, witnessed the signing of 457 key projects, more than half of which have started construction.

In addition, deals for 194 foreign investment projects worth a record $20.6 billion in investments were signed during the fourth Qingdao Multinationals Summit held in the coastal city of Qingdao in Shandong province from Oct 10 to 12.