BEIJING — China's centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) invested 1.8 trillion yuan (about $268.94 billion) in fixed assets in the first three quarters, up 11.3 percent from a year ago, data showed.

The growth rate was 5.5 percentage points higher than that during the first eight months, a record high this year, said the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC).

In September, central SOEs invested 339.17 billion yuan, a month-on-month increase of 66.7 percent.

In the second and third quarters, the year-on-year growth rates of investment made by central SOEs reached 14.8 percent and 17.6 percent, respectively, SASAC data showed.

"The investments were mainly used to coordinate industrial and supply chains and aid epidemic-hit Hubei province," SASAC spokesperson Peng Huagang said.

During the first three quarters, fixed-asset investment of petroleum and petrochemicals SOEs surged 19.6 percent year-on-year, while that of telecommunications SOEs grew 16.8 percent.