Shanghai's Baoshan District said it plans to invest 24 billion yuan (US$3.5 billion) in 38 projects to speed up the development of its service industry.

Baoshan, home to the country's largest steel maker Baosteel Group, has strengthened efforts to reduce reliance on manufacturing by promoting services including finance, outsourcing and trade.

"We plan to increase the scale of our service businesses as well as help our manufacturing companies to be strong," said Xia Yu, deputy director of Baoshan. "We can also take advantage of our strength in manufacturing to develop related services such as industrial design."

The investment includes projects such as Shanghai International Industry Design Center, Animation & Comic Zone, Shanghai Intellect Industry Park, Gongfu Garden outsourcing service base and Shanghai Call Center Industrial Base. A total of 1,526 companies have moved in so far.

Xia also said the district government is grasping the opportunity of building Shanghai into a world financial center and shipping hub. Baoshan has already established three small loan companies and two others are in the planning stages.

Baoshan's service industry accounts for 54 percent of the district's gross domestic product. The sector posted 9.8 percent growth on year in the first half, helping the district's economy gain 6.1 percent in the period.

Output from the service industry has contributed more than half of Baoshan's economic growth since 2003.

The district also attracted investment worth 9 billion yuan in the first half, an increase of 30 percent on year. Nearly 80 percent of the investment was poured into the service sector.

(Shanghai Daily July 15, 2009)