The number of private companies in China reached 4.869 million by the end of September, up 12.98 percent from the end of last year. The number accounted for more than half of the companies in China, according to a meeting held by the All China Federation of Industry and Commerce in Fuzhou, capital of southeastern Fujian Province, on Tuesday.

Experts believe that China's reform and opening up policy and its accession to the World Trade Organization (find more in WTO package ) have boosted the development of private businesses.

By the end of September, private companies in China employed a total of 63.95 million people, up 9.8 percent from the end of last year. Meanwhile, their aggregate registered capital surged 18.9 percent to 7.29 trillion yuan (931 billion U.S. dollars).

Between January and September, the industrial added-value of private companies each with an annual operation revenue of over 5 million yuan (639,000 U.S. dollars) climbed 26.1 percent to 1.18 trillion yuan (151 billion U.S. dollars).

During the period, the exports of private businesses in China totaled 173.1 billion U.S. dollars, up 46 percent from the same period last year.

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