BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- China's industry and commerce authorities said Friday that the number of businesses established in China rose only 0.78 percent year-on-year in 2008, much slower than an average of 5 percent growth in recent 5 years.

    As of the end of 2008, the number of businesses totaled 9.71 million, up 0.78 percent, or 74,900, over the same period in 2007,the State Administration For Industry and Commerce (SAIC) said.

    Private sectors and foreign-funded companies remained stable growth despite the global financial crisis. By the end of 2008, the number of private businesses stood at 6.57 million, up 9 percent, or 543,700.

    The number of foreign-funded companies rose 7 percent to 434,900 last year, with total investment exceeding 2.32 trillion U.S. dollars, up 10.21 percent year-on-year.

    The total registered capital of all businesses rose 12.42 percent to 43.48 trillion yuan (6.35 trillion U.S. dollars), the SAIC said.

    The statistics also showed that more companies had been established in the western and central areas as the country tried to transit more industries to the regions, while the number of companies fell in more-developed eastern region due to the financial crisis.