China's fixed asset investment rose 20.5 percent year on year to 25.69 trillion yuan (4.08 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first nine months of 2012, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.

The growth rate accelerated slightly by 0.1 percentage point from that in the first six months. However, it was down 4.4 percentage points from the same period last year, NBS data showed.

During the first nine months, investment in the primary industry amounted to 654.5 billion yuan, up 32.2 percent. Investment in the secondary industry totaled 11.37 trillion yuan, up 22.4 percent, while the tertiary industry witnessed a 19.4 percent rise to hit 13.67 trillion yuan.

Investment in the nation's central regions grew the fastest by 25.8 percent, followed by 24.1 percent in the west and 18.4 percent in the east.

Investment in property development climbed 15.4 percent to 5.1 trillion yuan in the first nine months, down 1.2 percentage points from the first half of the year, the bureau said.

NBS data released Thursday showed China's economy grew 7.4 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2012, slowing from 7.6 percent in the second quarter and 8.1 percent in the first.