China Financial District
China Financial DistrictReuters File

China has promised to implement measures to improve laws and government services for businesses in response to slowing private investment growth, state media reported late on Saturday.

China is counting on the private sector to invest more in the economy as the government tries to shift away from state-run heavy industry to a more entrepreneurial and services-led growth.

The measures come after a month-long survey of hundreds of private companies, the official Xinhua news agency reported, without detailing the measures.

The study found smaller market demand, overcapacity, higher labour costs and bad policy implementation had contributed to slower investment growth, Xinhua reported.

Private-sector fixed-asset investment, which includes land, equipment and buildings, accounted for more than 60 percent of overall investment in January to April, government data showed.

But the amount grew just 5.2 percent from the same period a year earlier, its slowest rate since data collection began in 2012. The rate also compared with around 10 percent last year, and as much as 25 percent in 2013.

The sector provides a third of all jobs in China and creates 90 percent of new urban jobs, state media have reported.