BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The added value of China's major industrial enterprises grew 18.5 percent year-on-year in the first two months of 2007, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.

This compared with a 16.6 percent increase for all of 2006, despite continuing government efforts to rein in copy-cat construction and other red-hot areas of the economy.

The sales ratio of the enterprises stood at 97 percent, which is the same as January and February of last year.

Delivered exports totaled 939 billion yuan in value, up 23.6 percent.

Two-digit growth was registered in the industrial added value of textile, nonmetal minerals products, ferrous metals smelting and pressing, telecommunications devices, computer and other electronic devices, and chemical materials and related processing industries.

The output of coal rose 15.7 percent year on year, crude oil, 2.5 percent, electricity, 16.6 percent, and rolled steel, 25.4 percent.

The output of motor vehicles increased by 21.5 percent, of which, that of sedans was up 29 percent.

Major enterprises are those with an annual sales volume of at least five million yuan.