BEIJING: China's real estate investment rose 3 percent in the first two months of 2016 in year-on-year terms, as growth in the area of property sold sped up to 28.2 percent, official data showed on Saturday.

The investment growth, reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), compared with an increase of 1 percent in the full year of 2015.

The rise in sales by area was above the 6.5 percent annual gain in 2015.

Real estate investment, which directly affects about 40 other business sectors in China, is considered to be a crucial growth driver.

Copyright Reuters, 2016