BEIJING - The number of newly registered companies has grown fast since a new registration rule took effect in the beginning of March, new data showed on Monday.

Between March and May, some 929,000 companies were registered, soaring 74.5 percent year on year, according to State Administration for Industry and Commerce data.

Aggregate new capital doubled over the same period last year to 4.8 trillion yuan ($780 billion).

Liu Yuting, deputy head of the administration, said the new rule to lower the minimum registered capital requirements for new companies, which became effective in March, has been very successful in invigorating the market.

China is pushing ahead with market-oriented reforms to combat an economic slowdown. The economy expanded 7.4 percent year on year in the first quarter, the lowest quarterly expansion since the third quarter of 2012. During this period, the number of new private companies stood at 878,000, with aggregate capital reaching 3.78 trillion yuan, up 78.3 percent and 225 percent respectively.

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