THE GDP of Guangdong Province in 2005 reached 2,170 billion yuan (US$265 billion), 12.5 percent higher than last year, making a new record high and ranking top in the nation, according to Guangzhou Daily on Thursday.

The figure exceeded the GDPs in Singapore and Hong Kong, the newspaper said. Guangdong's GDP reached 1,000 billion in 2000.

According to the statistics with the provincial statistics bureau, demands in consumption, investment and export are the main factors to boost Guangdong's economic development in 2005, among which the demand in consumption became quite an important growth point in the economy, the newspaper said.

The total retail value of consumables in 2005 in Guangdong amounted to 788.264 billion yuan, an increase of 15 percent over last year and 2.1 percent higher than the nation's average level. By the end of 2005, statistics show that for every 100 families 9.7 domestic vehicles were owned on average, 47.7 percent more than last year. The average shelter area for each household was 25.71 square meters and 18 percent of residents owned over two houses. With the growth of residents' incomes, the provincial deposit totaled 2,027 billion yuan, breaking through 2,000 billion yuan, 1.34 times as much as that in 2000.

Editor: Donald