SHANGHAI: Bucking the national trend, Shanghai has managed to attract more foreign investment and also offer a higher rate of return for investments, according to a white paper released by the local authorities yesterday.

The region had an average investment return of 24.73 percent in the first 11 months compared with the national average of 22 percent, said the Shanghai Foreign Investment Environment White Paper 2008 published by The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce (SMCC).

The study showed that between January and November, the number of foreign investment projects in the region rose 18.3 percent to 3,522. These projects involved a foreign investment of nearly $15.838 billion, it said.