BEIJING, May 12 -- More enterprises were registered in China in April after the country eased market access to push forward reform amid the economic slowdown, new data showed on Monday.

Around 367,200 companies were established last month, nearly 20 percent higher than that of March, data from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce said.

The number of new firms began to soar in March due to business registration reform in the country. Requirements on minimum registered capital for some types of businesses were canceled and yearly inspections were replaced by companies' annual reports.

"The reform measures stimulated market vitality, as a new wave of business start-ups emerged," said Wang Yukai, vice president of China Society of Administrative Reform.

By the end of April, the number of enterprises in China amounted to 15.91 million with registered capital totaling 103.73 trillion yuan (16.83 trillion U.S. dollars).