The technology industry, including electronics, biomedicine and artificial intelligence (AI), saw the fastest growth of foreign investment in the period, surging 230 percent year on year. [Photo/IC]

SHANGHAI -- Shanghai received $9.75 billion of foreign investment in the first half of 2019, up 13.9 percent year on year, according to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce Wednesday.

The total contractual foreign investment reached $22.86 billion, a year-on-year growth of 6.3 percent.

The technology industry, including electronics, biomedicine and artificial intelligence (AI), saw the fastest growth of foreign investment in the period, surging 230 percent year on year.

The commission said 23 regional headquarters of multinational corporations were set up in Shanghai in the period, bringing the total number to 693.

Yang Chao, deputy head of the commission, said the growth of foreign investment into Shanghai shows foreign investors have continued to tap into the Chinese market, and the improving structure and quality of foreign investment reflects the Chinese economy's transition from high-speed growth to high-quality development.