BEIJING -- China's industrial enterprises registered strong profit growth in May, offering an uptick sign for the world's second largest economy which has slowed for quarters.

Major Chinese industrial firms, or those with annual revenues of more than 20 million yuan ($3.22 million), saw profits surge 15.5 percent year on year to reach 470.55 billion yuan last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

The growth rate was faster than that of 9.3 percent recorded in April.

In the first five months, their profits rose 12.3 percent year on year to 2.08 trillion yuan, compared with a growth of 11.4 percent during Jan-April.