Fixed-asset investment in China's urban areas rose 33 percent in the first eight months of 2009 from a year earlier to 11.3 trillion yuan (US$1.65 trillion ), the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

The growth rate was 5.6 percentage points higher than the rate in the same period last year, up 0.1 percentage point compared to the first seven months of this year.

June alone recorded a 35.3-percent rise. The NBS did not provide monthly figures for July and August.

The growth rate in the primary sector for the first eight months -- including farming, fishing and forestry -- jumped 60.4 percent from a year earlier.

For the first eight months the industrial sector investment rose 27 percent. In the tertiary sector covering commerce, finance and services, there was a 37.3-percent growth.

China unveiled a 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package last November to boost investment in factories, property, roads and other facilities to counter falling exports and fuel growth of the world's third largest economy.

(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2009)