A total of 25,000 small and medium sized companies registered in Chongqing in the first quarter, according to the Chongqing Small and Medium Companies Bureau, liangjiang.gov.cn reported.

Among the 25,000 newly registered companies, wholesale and retail companies accounted for 30.3 percent, agricultural companies were about 18.4 percent, and leasing and business services accounted for 13.4 percent.

The gross industrial output value of small and medium companies totaled 288 billion yuan ($44.5 billion) in the first quarter, 19.4 percent higher than the same period in 2015.

Private investment in the first quarter totaled 137 billion yuan, up 12.2 percent over the same period last year.

Around 88,000 job opportunities were provided by the increased small and medium businesses, accounting for 60 percent of all the newly-added job opportunities.