Guangdong GDP growth to surpass 15%

Economic output in Guangdong province is set to hit US$319 billion this year, putting GDP growth at 15.2%, a 2.7 percentage-point rise over 2005, the South China Morning Post reported, citing state media. The projection was made by Guangdong provincial governor Huang Huahua, as he said growth between January and October was 14.1%. He also expects provincial imports and exports to reach US$500 billion, 30% of the national total. Vice Governor Zhong Yangsheng added that Guangdong's economy may surpass Taiwan's in 2008 and South Korea's in 2015. Experts said the growth was the result of strong fixed-asset investment, especially in rural eastern and western areas where growth stands at 20-30%. One researcher predicted that growth would stabilize below 10% after 2010.