Mr Livingstone wants to encourage trade links with China and India

Inward investment projects rose from 170 to 280, according to figures from the Department of Trade and Industry.

The London Development Agency said the city was succeeding in the global marketplace, despite increasing competition from China and India.

Mayor Ken Livingstone has said he wants to make London the gateway to western Europe for China.

In February he announced plans to open London's first trade offices abroad in China, which has the fastest growing economy in the world, to encourage trade and Chinese firms to come to London.

"We would be mad, as China becomes the largest economy in the world over the next century, not for them to see London as their base into Europe," he said.

There have also been moves to promote trade and links with India.

Most recently a Delhi bazaar pitched up in Trafalgar Square to help promote "economic, cultural and social ties" between the capital cities.

According to the "inward investment league" published by the DTI, the most new jobs were created in the South East where 5,379 people were hired by foreign companies - London had 3,955.