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Venture capitalists poured $964 million into 59 funding deals in China in the third quarter, breaking the yearly record set in 2001, according to a new study.

Through three quarters, venture capitalists pumped $3.29 billion into Chinese companies, smashing the full-year record of $2.88 billion set seven years earlier, Dow Jones VentureSource reported.

While the third-quarter financing figures remained strong, they come against the backdrop of a widening global credit crisis and a report released in October from Beijing-based Zero2IPO Research Center that reported third-quarter venture capital fund-raising tumbled 83.7 percent versus the prior quarter.

"It's clear that venture capital investors are still eager to put money into this emerging marketplace and, in many areas, they're actually accelerating the pace of their investments," Jessica Canning, global research director for Dow Jones VentureSource, said in a statement. "Already this year, the business and financial services, consumer goods and consumer services industries--three areas closely tied to emerging economies due to their focus on retail, manufacturing, media and advertising--have set annual investment records."

In the third quarter, companies in the consumer services industry attracted $267 million in nine deals, a 57 percent increase from the $170 million in 15 deals in the comparable 2007 period. Business and financial services companies drew $254 million in 13 deals, a 38 percent year-over-year increase.

Investment in information technology companies, however, fell 17 percent to $230 million in 18 deals compared with $277 million in 29 deals in the third quarter of 2007.

The third quarter’s median deal size was $10 million, the highest on record, Ms. Canning said.