GUANGZHOU: Guangdong Province realized foreign trade of over $520 billion in 2006, making up about one-third of the nation's total, a provincial foreign trade official said.

The province also raked in foreign direct investment of $14.51 billion last year, accounting for over one-fourth of the nation's total and rising 17.4 percent from 2006.

The province approved 8,452 foreign-funded projects worth $15.35 billion in 2006, said Liang Yaowen, director-general of Guangdong Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation Department, at a grand banquet celebrating China's Lunar New Year in Guangzhou yesterday.

He said that the total imports and exports volume the province realized in 2006 was $100 million more than that of 2005, with new and high-tech products making great contributions to the surge in the province's exports volume.

Liang said that Guangdong would make greater efforts to promote its export commodities and its investment climate home and abroad.

He said that the province aims to realize a foreign trade growth of 11 percent this year, with exports increasing 12 percent and imports increasing 10 percent from 2006.

The province will offer more generous awards to the world's top 500 corporations if they set up projects in the province this year.

He said the province would encourage foreign investors to involve more in the tertiary sector in Guangdong.

The province's service industry will be developed so as to account for more than 45 percent of the economy in 2010 and more than 50 percent in 2020.

Guangdong has been relying heavily on foreign capital for economic development and will provide even better service to help lure foreign investors, he said.

Local analysts said that the province was well-equipped to woo more foreign investors to the service sector and the province's service level will play an active role to step up foreign direct investment.