Southwest China's Tibetan Autonomous Region has so far recorded more than one billion yuan (US$124 million) in tax revenue since the start of the year, a rise of 15 percent year-on-year, according to the region's taxation administration bureau.

This means that the region has collected 96 percent of the tax revenue planned for the whole year, said the bureau.

During the first 10 months of the year, fixed asset investment in Tibet amounted to 10.8 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion), up 36 percent year-on-year, setting conditions for the rise in tax revenue.

Construction work on 117 key local projects, including railway, cement and power plants, went ahead smoothly, shoring up tax revenue collected from the building industry.

Tibet has witnessed speedy development this year and its GDP is expected to grow by more than 12 percent, said the bureau.

(China Daily December 1, 2003)