Shanghai's fixed-asset investment grew 5 percent from a year earlier to 249.5 billion yuan (US$39.6 billion) in the first seven months, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau said yesterday.

The growth picked up from the increase of 4.5 percent in the first half with more investment in affordable housing. During the January-July period, investment in the urban infrastructure construction fell 7.4 percent annually, while investment in property development jumped 10.7 percent.