NANNING -- The pilot free trade zone (FTZ) in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region attracted nearly 21.6 billion yuan (about $3.2 billion) in paid-in investment in the first three quarters of this year, official data showed Wednesday.

According to the investment promotion bureau of Guangxi, 7,187 new enterprises from home and abroad were set up in the region's pilot FTZ in the January-September period, including 53 that are foreign-funded.

The region's pilot FTZ signed 48 large investment projects, with nearly 26 billion yuan of contracted investment in the first three quarters.

The region's pilot FTZ held a series of online promotion events to help enterprises pull through difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic this year. A total of 31 investment projects were signed during the events held in June, with investment topping 8 billion yuan.