The number of market entities in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, exceeded four million by the end of Friday, ranking third among Chinese cities.

It is not only a digital leap, but also a "vote of confidence" cast by domestic and foreign investors on the business environment and market prospects in the province, according to a statement released by the Guangzhou Administration for Market Regulation on Monday.

"It marks a new stage in the development of market entities in the southern metropolis," said the statement.

With the continuous optimization of the investment environment and the improvement of services, foreign-funded companies have continued to settle down in Guangzhou in recent years, according to the statement.

Foreign-funded enterprises have maintained a steady growth rate of 15 percent, with capital from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Macao accelerating their layout in the city, it said.

High-quality global factor resources continue to favor and invest in Guangzhou, the statement said.

Meanwhile, Guangzhou's emerging strategic industry market entities are flourishing, enhancing the city's new quality productive forces. Among them, the biopharmaceutical and health industry market entities reached 503,500, a year-on-year increase of 10.05 percent.

Market entities involving intelligent equipment and the robot industry hit 392,700, a year-on-year increase of 15.3 percent, while the figure in the software and internet industries came to 343,600, up 16.38 percent year-on-year.

The growth rates of newly registered market entities in the low altitude economy and aerospace industry, along with the artificial intelligence industry, reached 156.48 percent and 89.82 percent, respectively, said the statement.

The growth rates of newly registered market entities in the future industries of future networks and quantum technology, as well as deep sea and deep space industries, reached 179.10 percent and 143.01 percent, respectively, it added.