As a pilot city of China's reform and opening-up drive, Shenzhen's logistics and financial industries have made rapid progress over the years. The southern Chinese metropolis has now become a logistics and financial centre in South China.

Shenzhen has the eastern and western harbour zones with 53 deepwater wharfs that can handle vessels of more than 10,000 tons. Shenzhen has opened 145 international ocean container transportation routes to major export and import ports around the world.

Shenzhen Port has become the fourth largest port on the Chinese mainland. Its annual cargo throughput reached more than 153 million tons recently. And the container volume hit 16.2 million TEUs (twenty-feet equivalent units).

Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport has also become the fourth largest airport in the mainland. It has opened 95 domestic and 18 international routes. Last year, 15.74 million passengers took off and landed in Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport and more than 466,000 tons of cargo was also handled there. Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport has become one of the world's top 500 cargo transportation airports.

Shenzhen has advanced expressways, railways and metro networks, connecting the city with major cities in the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

It takes less than 90 minutes for vehicles from Shenzhen's business areas to reach the five nearby airports in Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Shenzhen.

Meanwhile Shenzhen lies at the connecting point of Beijing-Kowloon and Guangzhou-Kowloon railway lines.

Shenzhen's metro lines will be constructed to connect with the light railway network in the bordering Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2008.

Shenzhen's finance industry has also achieved great success in the past few years.

The city has established an advanced financial system that includes banks, a stock market and insurance companies and other financial institutions.

The country's first foreign bank, the first shareholding insurance company, the first shareholding company, the first foreign currency swap centre, the first Sino-foreign financial joint venture company and the first electronic clearing centre were all set up in Shenzhen in the past years.

Most of the domestic banks and other financial companies have set up their outlets and subsidiaries in Shenzhen.

Meanwhile more than 50 foreign banks and financial companies have also established their branches and subsidiaries in Shenzhen.

By the end of 2005, Shenzhen's resident bank's saving balance reached 847.82 billion yuan (US$105.98 billion).

Shenzhen is also home to one of China's two stock exchanges. By the end of last year, a total of 544 companies had gone public in Shenzhen Stock Exchange, raising 213.37 billion yuan (US$26.67 billion) of funds. And the public companies listed in Shenzhen Stock Exchange have been estimated to be worth 933.42 billion yuan (US$116.68 billion).

Shenzhen Stock Exchange's annual trading volume is worth more than 1.242 trillion yuan (US$155.31 billion).

Shenzhen municipal government has also introduced a series of local policies and regulations to help boost and guide the development of the city's financial industry.

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