Ningbo, a port in Zhejiang Province, Monday secured US$565 million worth of investment from Hong Kong in manufacturing, education, real estate and financial services.

The contracts were signed during the Ningbo-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Forum, attended by more than 1,600 local participants and 250 business representatives from Hong Kong.

Discussions were held on overseas mergers and acquisitions, city construction, education and medical services.

Hong Kong is the largest investor in Ningbo with a total of US$7.2 billion pumped in since 2002. It is also the sixth-largest trading partner of Ningbo.

During the same period, the number of Hong Kong-funded enterprises in Ningbo has doubled to 5,298, and nearly 100 Ningbo companies, of which eight are listed in Hong Kong, have invested US$250 million in Hong Kong.