Tibetan Economy Grows 8.4 Percent In First Half

LHASA, August 8 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region enjoyed a GDP of 3.85 billion yuan during the first half of this year, up 8.4 percent over the same period last year, according to the region's official statistics.

The regional statistics bureau said that Tibet had an industrial output value of 540 million yuan during the six months, an increase of 14.9 percent. The state industrial sector suffered a net loss of 1.13 million yuan, but this figure was down by 43.9 million yuan from the end of last year.

Observers say that although the scale of Tibet's economy is rather small compared with other provinces and autonomous regions, its rate of growth is rather laudable.

The regions' posts and telecommunications saw its business rise by 14 percent and 57 percent respectively, exports shot up by 38 percent, and the region attracted 32 percent more tourists, some 89,000 people from home and abroad, than in the first half last year.

Tibet's retail sales volume rose by 4.8 percent on an annual basis to two billion yuan during the first half.