IT Industry Flourishes in ShanghaiThe information technology (IT) industry will become the leading sector of Shanghai's economy this year, with annual output reaching 115 billion yuan (about 13.8 billion U.S. dollars).Analysts referred to the upward trend as a major step toward a sustainable local economy. The Municipal Government of Shanghai, which has set the goal of building a world information center in the near future, has listed the IT industry as one of the key growth areas of the local economy. Over the past few years, the city has turned out integrated circuits, computers, mobile telecommunication facilities and a series of other profitable information technology products. The IT industrial output had maintained an average annual growth rate of approximately 40 percent for the past five years, to reach 90.4 billion yuan (about 10.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 1999. Today, Shanghai produces one-fifth of China's integrated circuits, one-third of telecommunications equipment, and 30 percent of IC cards, according to latest statistics. |
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