Guangzhou, China, 30 July – The Chinese province of Guangdong plans to boost its services sector so that by 2012 it will account for half of its gross domestic product (GDP), daily newspaper China Daily reported Tuesday.

Guangdong will increase its annual budget for supporting services development and the industrial sector by 2 billion yuan (US$239 million) between 2008 and 2012.

The main aim of this transformation is to make services account for 50 percent of GDP in 2012 and over 60 percent by 2020.

Last year services accounted for 42 percent of the province’s GDP, whilst industry was responsible for 52 percent.

Guangdong province, where the industrial hub of the Pearl River Delta is located, is an area whose prosperity depends on industry and exports.

One or two industrial park pilot-projects are due to be launched thsi year with a view to attracting more investment to the regions of the east, west and north of the province.

At the beginning of the month Guangdong and Hong Kong signed a cooperation agreement to promote a modern services industry over the next year in order to boost the development of several business sectors in both regions.

The Special Administrative Regions of Macau is located in Guangdong province, more specifically in the Pearl River delta. (macauhub)