BEIJING - The number of newly established firms has continued to increase in China, according to official data.

About 1 million new companies were registered in the first quarter of 2016, up 25.9 percent year on year, statistics from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce showed on Wednesday.

The number of newly registered firms in tertiary industries rose 27.4 percent to 862,000, over 80 percent of new registrations.

As the housing market warms slightly in major cities, the property sector saw 23,000 new firms in the first quarter, better than the 5.3-percent rise in the previous quarter.

China lifted restrictions on minimum registered capital, payment deadlines, down payment ratios and cash ratios of registered capital in early 2014 to encourage startups.