Private businesses in south China's Guangdong Province, for the first time, outdid state firms in exports, with last year's volume totaling 18.78 billion US dollars, 66.2 percent higher than in 2003.

The figure accounted for 27.1 percent of the total exports reported by nationwide private firms in 2004, according to sources with the Guangdong Customs.

Guangdong-based state firms, in comparison, posted 12.1 billion US dollars of exports in 2004, up 2.1 percent year-on-year, the customs' statistics show.

The southern province reported 357.13 billion US dollars of foreign trade in 2004, including 191.56 billion US dollars of exports and 165.57 billion US dollars of imports, up 25.3 percent and 26.7 percent respectively from the previous year.

By the end of last year, 27,337 private firms in Guangdong had been authorized for business transactions with foreign countries and regions, including 12,260 new companies that were established in 2004.

Foreign trade authorities in Guangdong organized nine training sessions last year to help more than 1,000 private firms to be acquainted in this field.