As an important part of Shandong's efforts to build a modern economy, the service industry is a major highlight of the province's ongoing investment campaign in Hong Kong this week.

Of the projects that Shandong is promoting, 48 involve the service sector.

At the ongoing Shandong- Hong Kong Trade and Investment Week, Shandong hopes to attract more Hong Kong investments to such sectors as financial securities, port logistics, trade services, tourism, cultural creation and healthcare.

"Service sectors in Shandong still have much space for development at a time when the province is accelerating urbanization," said Xia Geng, vicegovernor of Shandong.

Hong Kong investors have shown great interest in Shandong's service sector. Around 40.3 percent of the agreements signed between Shandong and Hong Kong at the previous four trade weeks have been related to the service sector, accounting for 55.2 percent of the total investment amount in dollars.

Major Hong Kong corporations, including China Resources, New World Development Ltd, China National Travel Service (HK) Group Corporation and Hang Lung Group have already built facilities in Shandong.

The service sector in Shandong has always been the top destination for investment. Investment in services totaled 1.52 trillion yuan during the first three years of the province's 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15), accounting for more than half the province's total. This includes $4.47 billion of foreign capital, which accounted for more than 36 percent of the total foreign capital utilized in Shandong last year.

The province's efforts to develop modern services have generated huge profits. Last year, services contributed 1.99 trillion yuan to the economy, accounting for 40 percent of the province's GDP and increasing annually by 9.8 percent. Four sectors – financial services, property development, tourism and software – were the primary drivers of the province's economy. Combined output from these sectors surpassed 1 trillion yuan last year.

By Zhao Ruixue

zhaoruixue@chinadaily.com.cn