CHINA'S venture capital and private equity firms accelerated their investment pace in June and the number of withdrawals also recovered as companies seek offshore listings amid a stalled initial public offering market on China's mainland, an industry report said today.

China's VC/PE industry sealed 50 investment deals in June, up 47.1 percent from May, the Zero2IPO Research Center said in a report. Thirty-eight of the deals were worth US$4.5 billion.

The amount of investment represented a 465 percent surge from a month earlier thanks to a mega investment of US$3.9 billion in PetroChina United Pipelines Co Ltd, according to the Beijing-based information provider.

Last month, the Internet industry received the most VC/PE investment, with 13 companies taking in such funds. The telecommunications industry was second with nine investments, and machine manufacturing and media industry tied for third with four cases each.

In terms of amount, much of the money went into the energy and mineral industry, which grabbed a combined US$3.9 billion, followed by US$250 million invested in real estate and US$109 million in agriculture and farming.

There were 16 withdrawals last month, up from nine exits in May, including 12 through IPOs, three via buyback and one through merger and acquisitions, the report said.

Among IPO exits, three are VC/PE-backed Chinese firms that have gone public on offshore markets including New York and Hong Kong, as the China Securities Regulatory Commission has halted approvals for new share offerings.