CHINA has promised to implement measures to improve laws and government services for businesses in response to slowing private investment growth, domestic media reported late Saturday.

    China is counting on the private sector to invest more in the economy as the government tries to shift away from State-run heavy industry to a more entrepreneurial and services-led growth.

    The measures come after a month-long survey of hundreds of private companies, the Xinhua news agency reported, without detailing the measures.

    The State Council, or the Cabinet, dispatched teams comprised of officials, scholars and business elites to investigate into the slowdown, Xinhua said.

    The study found smaller market demand, overcapacity, higher labor costs and bad policy implementation had contributed to slower investment growth, the Xinhua news agency reported.

    The government has promised targeted measures to fix those problems.

    Private-sector fixed-asset investment, which includes land, equipment and buildings, accounted for more than 60 percent of overall investment in January to April, government data showed.

    But the amount grew just 5.2 percent from the same period a year earlier, its slowest rate since data collection began in 2012. The rate also compared with around 10 percent last year, and as much as 25 percent in 2013.

    China’s private sector contributes 60 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), 80 percent of jobs, over half of tax revenues and 46 percent of exports, the Xinhua news agency said.(SD-Agencies)