The value of imports and exports of North China's Shanxi province increased 5.6 percent year-on-year to 17.04 billion yuan ($2.62 billion) in March, according to Taiyuan Customs on April 22.

This was the first monthly increase since November of last year, reversing four consecutive months of decline.

In the first quarter of this year, Shanxi's imports and exports of goods were valued at 45.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 8.2 percent. In March alone, however, both imports and exports saw growth. 

From January to March, the imports and exports of private enterprises in Shanxi increased more than 50 percent to 15.24 billion yuan, accounting for more than 30 percent of the province's total foreign trade.

According to the Shanxi Department of Commerce, the province's actual utilization of foreign capital grew 16.1 percent year-on-year to $527 million in the first quarter of this year.

Among the 11 cities in the province, Taiyuan and Shuozhou each had more than $100 million in foreign capital in place. 

The actual utilization of foreign capital increased 21.4 percent in the production and supply of electricity, gas and water, 2.3 percent in the manufacturing industry, 45 percent in the mining industry, and 21 percent in the information transmission, software and information technology service sector.

Twenty-five foreign-invested enterprises registered in the province over the past three months, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.6 percent.