Guangzhou's economy put on another sterling performance last year, with gross domestic product (GDP) surging by 15 per cent to 346.66 billion yuan.
The city's economy grew by 1.4 percentage points more than the provincial average, and 6.5 percentage points higher than the national figure.
Jia Jingzhi, deputy statistics bureau chief, said it was the best growth rate in eight years and confirmed the 12 per cent target for this year announced earlier by Mayor Zhang Guangning.
Fixed-asset investment grew 14.7 per cent to 115.77 billion yuan, the highest growth rate in four years.
Investment in basic infrastructure rose 59.9 per cent to 45.45 billion yuan and investment in renovation and upgrading was up 3 per cent to 18.86 billion yuan. Property investment, however, fell 4.8 per cent to 40.59 billion yuan.
Mr Jia said private investment had revitalised the city's development, growing by 9.3 per cent to 44.37 billion yuan and accounting for about 25 per cent of total fixed-asset investment.
