NANJING, July 28 (Xinhua) -- East China's Jiangsu Province continued to be the most popular destination for foreign investment in the first half of 2019.

The coastal province reported an actual use of foreign investment of 15.25 billion U.S. dollars, the largest number among all provincial-level regions across the country, according to the provincial department of commerce.

The foreign investment edged up 0.2 percent year on year, the department said.

Since the beginning of this year, authorities in Jiangsu have been improving the local business environment in a bid to attract more quality investment.

Investment in the strategic emerging industries of bio-tech and new pharmacy, high-end software and information service, and energy-saving and environmental protection grew 132.1 percent, 58.4 percent and 41.8 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the province saw fast increases in investment from the European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Investment from Germany, Britain, the Republic of Korea and Japan jumped 23.3 percent, 99.9 percent, 63.5 percent and 25.3 percent, respectively, according to the department.