There were a total of 121,000 market entities in Taicang by the end of November, an increase of more than 11,000 over the past 11 months, according to the latest statistics released by the city's bureaus of market regulation and administrative examination and approval.

Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, the growth rate of market entities in the city rebounded in late March after a sharp decline. 

The number of newly registered business entities reached 5,194 and 4,661 in the second and third quarters, respectively, up 11.1 and 26.55 percent year-on-year.

In November alone, there were 2,478 new entities registered in Taicang, including 14 foreign companies, receiving a total of $492 million in foreign investment.

The city's industrial structure has been upgraded as an increasing number of entities involved in information technology, sci-tech research, and e-commerce have flowed in.

This rapid growth is partly due to streamlined administrative procedures and improved government services, local media said.

Taicang has been leading Jiangsu province in enhancing the efficiency of approval processes, with 78 percent of businesses completing registration within half a day.