Shanghai, one of China's economic engines, reported a good economic performance in the first three quarters of this year.

Shanghai's gross domestic product, or GDP, amounted to 530.5 billion yuan (US$63.9 billion) for the nine-month period, up 14.2 percent year-on-year. The growth rate was 2.4 percentage points higher than the year-earlier level, said Cai Xuchu, a municipal statistical bureau spokesman at a press conference.

From January to September, major industrial enterprises in Shanghai realized 251.3 billion yuan (US$30.3 billion) in value-added output, up 23.2 percent from the same period of last year, Cai said.

They garnered 998.5 billion yuan in sales income for the period,up 30.3 percent over the same 2003 period. The total included 77.2billion yuan (US$9.3 billion) in profits, up 33.5 percent, Cai added.

In the three-quarter period, fixed-assets investment stood at 231.25 billion yuan (US$27.9 billion), up 25.9 percent year-on-year. The growth rate was 11.4 percentage points lower than an overheated level for the first quarter this year. Most of the money went to the manufacturing, property development and construction sectors.

The city's retail sales increased by 11.4 percent year-on-year to 182.4 billion yuan (US$21.97 billion), said Cai.

Foreign direct investment, or FDI, grew steadily in the city. A total of US$9.2 billion entered the city in contracted foreign capital between January and September, up 3.1 percent year-on-year. About US$5.4 billion was actually used, up 19 percent.

Meanwhile, foreign trade in the city soared 49.9 percent from the year-earlier level to 53.2 billion US dollars, according to Cai Xuchu.

The city also recorded 86.1 billion yuan (US$10.37 billion) in fiscal revenues for the nine-month period, up 26.5 percent, Cai added.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2004)