China's accommodation and catering sales rose 21.6 percent to 110 billion yuan (14.9 billion U.S. dollars) in November over the same period a year earlier, the Ministry of Commerce announced here on Monday.

In the first 11 months, retail sales of the accommodation and catering industry totaled 1.11 trillion yuan, up 18.9 percent year-on-year. It accounted for 13.9 percent of overall retail sales.

During the period, 862 foreign-funded companies in the accommodation and catering sectors were approved, down 11.9 percent. The utilization of foreign funds rose 8.3 percent to 790 million U.S. dollars.

(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2007)