BEIJING.. Feb 1: Foreign businesses agreed to invest a record 110.85 billion dollar in China last year, an increase of about 91 per cent from 1992, an official newspaper said Tuesday, reports AP.

Actual. investment in 1993 amounted to 25.75 billion US dollar, up 135 per cent over 1992, the Economic Dally said.

The huge increases reflect both foreign companies’ enthusiasm for business opportunities in China, and the Chinese government's willingness to grant them greater access to the domestic market.

The newspaper said the amount of foreign money pumped into China in 1993 alone was roughly equal to all previous foreign investment

absorbed by the country since it launched its economic modernization drive 14-year earlier/

Foreign investment last year targeted infrastructure projects, energy raw materials and technology, the report said. It said the average investment per project was about 1.33 million US dollar, up from 1.17 million US dollar in 1992.

It said .foreign investors showed more interest in China's inland areas In 1993. after previously focusing on the more accessible coast, but gave no regional figures.

Imports and exports by China's foreign-funded enterprises. Including Joint ventures, totalled 67 billion US dollar last year.