Beijing, Jul 15 (IANS): Prosecutors in China received more than 600,000 inquiries about bribery involving companies or individuals in the first six months this year, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said.

The figure represents a 76.5 percent rise from the same period last year, as more government departments and trade associations are taking advantage of such inquiries to prevent possible corruption, Xinhua reported.

More than 830,000 enterprises, institutions and more than 1.11 million individuals were inquired of.

Since February 2012, procuratorates and government authorities have pushed for tighter market access for companies and individuals who had records of giving out bribes.

The move has targeted construction projects, government procurement, public resources use, bank loans, purchase of pharmaceutical and medical equipment, transportation, commerce, and personnel management.

Individuals, companies, or institutions will have their credit ratings lowered or licenses revoked, or even banned from their trade if found to have offered bribes to others.